


HIDDEN REFLECTIONS

by XFPenpal



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 03:17:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16467638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XFPenpal/pseuds/XFPenpal
Summary: Summary:  After helping the FBI solve a case in Virginia, Scully continues herwork as a doctor whilst Mulder remains unemployed.  Whilst searching the Internet,he comes across a number of closed cases dating back to the 60's, involving Asianwomen who all died in front of mirrors, and is immediately drawn to them believingthe paranormal was involved.  Meanwhile, at the hospital Scully takes on a newphysician's assistant, who is a Japanese cousin of a work colleague of hers.  Oneday, Mulder meets this young lady, and she is instantly attracted to him.  Howevershe harbours a terrible secret, and he discovers a connection to her in ways he couldnever even have conceived.  What follows is a tale of innocence, hidden passions,deceitful lies that hide the truth, plenty of angst and brutal bloody murders.And to top it all the year 2012 is still looming in the distanceNB: This tale of mine was loosely based on a Japanese legend known as The Slit-Mouth Woman.





	HIDDEN REFLECTIONS

Title: HIDDEN REFLECTIONS

Author: Penny Evans

Rating: R – for violence, sexual images and language.

Disclaimer: All X File characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and  
Fox. 'Kokomo' lyrics by John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Mike Love and Terry  
Melcher of the Beach Boys. No copyright infringement intended and no profit is  
being made. 

Acknowledgments: 

X Files – I Want To Believe novel by Max Allan Collins.

Horror Stories: Scary For Kids - http://www.scaryforkids.com/horror-  
stories/http://www.scaryforkids.com/kuchisake-onna/  
Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia, including –  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiovascular_disease

Adult Stem Cell Therapy - http://vescell.com/ /Yahoo! Health. Com  
Neuro Spine Surgery -  
https://vic.pvhs.org/portal/page?_pageid=333,401484&_dad=portal&_schema=POR  
TAL&pagid=78

Physician's Assistant – http://www.paworld.net/whatpadoes.htm /  
http://www.anspa.org/

Japanese phrases - http://japanese.about.com/library/blsjp.htm

Google Maps

Gorgeous Penthouse Condos, Richmond, USA -  
http://richmond.craigslist.org/apa/1315887317.html

Edgar Allen Poe Museum - http://www.poemuseum.org/index.html

Bar & Grill in Richmond, Virginia - http://www.buffalowildwings.com/

Richmond Times Dispatch - http://www2.timesdispatch.com/

Category: Post – X Files: I Want To Believe / Stand-alone horror.

Spoilers: IWTB / The End / Red Museum / Paper Clip / The Truth/ The Field Where  
I Died

Summary: After helping the FBI solve a case in Virginia, Scully continues her  
work as a doctor whilst Mulder remains unemployed. Whilst searching the Internet,  
he comes across a number of closed cases dating back to the 60's, involving Asian  
women who all died in front of mirrors, and is immediately drawn to them believing  
the paranormal was involved. Meanwhile, at the hospital Scully takes on a new  
physician's assistant, who is a Japanese cousin of a work colleague of hers. One  
day, Mulder meets this young lady, and she is instantly attracted to him. However  
she harbours a terrible secret, and he discovers a connection to her in ways he could  
never even have conceived. What follows is a tale of innocence, hidden passions,  
deceitful lies that hide the truth, plenty of angst and brutal bloody murders.  
And to top it all the year 2012 is still looming in the distance  
NB: This tale of mine was loosely based on a Japanese legend known as The Slit-  
Mouth Woman.

don't turn away  
don't give in to the pain  
don't try to hide  
though they're screaming your name  
don't close your eyes  
God knows what lies behind them  
don't turn out the light  
never sleep never die 

fallen angels at my feet  
whispered voices at my ear  
death before my eyes  
lying next to me i fear  
she beckons me shall i give in  
upon my end shall i begin  
forsaking all i've fallen for i rise to meet the end

WHISPER – EVANESENCE

14th Century Japan

She knew she was beautiful. As she glanced in the mirror her reflection captured  
everything that portrayed the serene dark-haired woman, with a face so like porcelain  
it seemed to shimmer giving her an aura of pure light. With a careful steady hand she  
brushed her ebony locks, gazing into the mirror so deeply she felt she might be able to  
drown herself in her own image. Lose her very essence and melt away into another  
existence, another life. Where she and the man she shared her heart with would be  
free like birds, their souls able to soar into the clear blue skies, unchained and  
unafraid. 

A sudden movement from behind her caused the woman to look away only for a brief  
second. Enough to realise he was standing, almost towering over her like a  
malevolent shadow that would cover her world with darkness, destroy her chances of  
living in the sunlight ever again. A silver gleam of cold steel flashed before her eyes  
as she turned to face her husband, a samurai warrior of great strength and agility. He  
had entered her life without any warning and her heart had opened itself up like a  
delicate lotus flower to this powerful man. Believing he would be her protector,  
someone who would love her for all of eternity, he had ended up tearing her soul to  
shreds like a raging tiger devouring it's prey. 

The kiss as before was passionate but forceful as he held her fiercely in his grasp.  
Tears flowed down her face, turning crimson red as the blade sliced into her delicate  
features. It's swift movement ripped open her ruby lips…and she screamed! 

"Yokumo maa!" he yelled in contempt, a tidal wave of jealous rage threatening to  
consume him in its wake. 'How could you?' He repeated the words over and over  
almost believing she would give him an answer. But as he held her blood soaked  
body close to him she just shivered in his arms, a soft moan escaping from her now  
grotesquely disfigured features. For a second his heart wrenched from deep inside  
and regret tried to overpower him. But then he remembered her betrayal and his  
hatred grew stronger. "No!" he cried out, like a wounded animal. Pushing her to the  
ground he raised his sword and struck the final blow, severing her head from her  
shoulders. 

"Mou jikan yo," he whispered, closing his eyes as if in prayer. "Your time is over  
Kuchisake."

\---------------------------------------------

Virginia, USA – February 15th 2009.

He glanced at the clock on the wall which revealed it was only 10.15 a.m. and sighed.  
Time just seemed to pass so slowly lately. How long had it been now, since the FBI  
had called on him to help solve that modern-day Frankenstein case, involving the  
disappearance of a group of women including an FBI agent which had resulted in the  
death of another female agent, and almost cost him dearly? Way to long. But during  
that time Fox Mulder had never felt so alive. Being thrown into a life- threatening  
situation wasn't what most people would wish for? And it wasn't that he enjoyed that  
aspect of it either. But the adrenalin rush he received pursuing a case especially one  
with paranormal overtones, was something he knew he could never escape from. Just  
like a drug addict needing his next fix, he desperately craved the buzz it always gave  
him, no matter how dangerous it would turn out to be. Then there was the other part  
of him that needed to help save people from the big bad evil in the world because it  
made him feel useful and worth something, more so for himself. He'd always had  
this embedded feeling of low self-esteem, perhaps because of the unstable family life  
he'd been raised in? Whatever the reason, he knew he had a special insight into  
solving supernatural cases in particular. It was his raison d'etre – his reason for  
existing. 

Sitting in the small converted bedroom he'd made into his private study, in their  
secluded single-story rural home in Virginia, Mulder sighed heavily as his fingers  
flew over the keyboard of the laptop computer on his desk. He had bought this place  
in the middle of nowhere when he and Scully had at first been on the run from the  
FBI, long before she had become the qualified neurosurgeon she was now. But since  
helping to solve that Frankenstein case the Washington bureau had dropped all their  
so-called charges and promised him he could live his life a free man, so long as he  
promised to stay out of their way. He remembered the moment when Special Agent  
Mosley Drummy had reluctantly thanked him for the help, yet clearly had continued  
to show disdain on his part. Mulder knew the guy secretly blamed him for the death  
of his partner Dakota Whitney, after the Russian immigrant had pushed her down a  
lift shaft. He'd been the only other person who had been with her at the time it  
happened and should have been looking out for her. The fact he could have done  
nothing to prevent it just didn't seem to register with Drummy. The man had hated  
him ever since he'd introduced himself and nothing was going to change that. With a  
heavy heart Mulder had reluctantly made the deal with the bureau because he knew  
the things he'd been accused of in the distant past had been nothing but lies. They  
knew it too, but held all the cards against him. So they'd got what they wanted,  
destroyed his X Files, his life's work claiming it had been nothing more than a stupid  
obsession of his. And now he was out of their hair…for the time being anyhow. 

Mulder was frustrated because in the back of his mind he knew there would come a  
day when the FBI would want him back on board, in the year 2012, December 22nd to  
be precise. The date of the final alien invasion would procure his return to the bureau  
and then they would have to admit how wrongly they had treated him. Of course,  
then he'd have to play the part of the hero who would be expected to save the world  
and in all likely hood would probably die trying. Until that fateful time arose though  
he felt he would remain stuck in this godforsaken place, becoming a permanent  
fixture. Going nowhere, just standing still like a stagnant pond that had been left  
untouched for years. Slowly procrastinating, melding into the foundations till there  
would be nothing left but an empty shell of the man he used to be. 

At least he still had the inheritance left for him by his parents so he didn't have to  
completely rely on Dana Scully for money to survive. He'd convinced her that he  
needed to remain laying low, as he was sure there were still certain people out there  
after his hide. Whether or not he was simply just letting paranoia rear it's ugly head  
remained to be seen. But he thanked the heavens he wasn't relying on her doctor's  
wages to see him through. That would have sickened him! The only thing that gave  
him any real meaning in this sorry excuse for an existence was having his strong-  
willed and beautiful partner beside him. Although some semblance of luck must have  
finally decided to descend upon them both because they had managed to escape to a  
tropical paradise together…away from the darkness, well at least for a while at any  
rate. 

Mulder smiled to himself. It had been like a dream, lost in some parallel existence, a  
fairytale where only good things happened to decent people. So unlike the reality he  
had faced every waking day of his life. A Beach Boys song formed in his mind and  
he began to sing the tune softly to himself whilst he carried on searching the Internet.  
He was glad there was no one around to hear him right there and then for he knew he  
couldn't carry a tune and usually restricted such pastimes during moments of solitude,  
in the car or shower.

'Off the Florida Keys there's a place called Kokomo  
That's where you wanna go to get away from it all  
Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand  
We'll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band  
Down in Kokomo'

The laptop suddenly decided to freeze. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed loudly. Giving it a  
hard thump with his fist he yelled, "Just fucking typical!" Get yourself in a positive  
state of mind Mulder, and fate throws you a negative curve ball once again!" Sighing  
heavily he switched it off and started it up again. No luck. However after a second  
attempt it whirred back into life, much to his relief. It would be hours before Scully  
would come home from the hospital so if the computer had died on him then he would  
have probably gone stir crazy. This was his favourite way of passing the time, then  
the hours seemed to go quicker in the day, least in theory. Clicking on the Internet  
Explorer icon it was only a few moments before he was back in cyberspace where he  
returned to the web page he'd been browsing, all about the so-called real X Files  
documents that had been released by the government to the public in the United  
Kingdom. With a shake of his head he rolled his eyes skyward, snorted, then carried  
on reading. Shame these folks weren't aware that this was all just another well  
planned cover story to hide the true facts about extra terrestrials. A truth he sadly  
knew all to well now. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind he pictured  
silhouettes of swaying palm trees, whilst he and the woman he loved more than life  
itself, had made love in each others arms, their naked bodies writhing in ecstasy upon  
warm golden sands. He could almost hear the waves lapping against the shore as the  
ocean had glittered under a full moon and his imagination started playing the song  
once more.

'We'll put out to sea and we'll perfect our chemistry  
By and by we'll defy a little bit of gravity  
Afternoon delight, cocktails and moonlit nights  
That dreamy look in your eye, gives me a tropical contact high  
Way down in Kokomo.'

As crystal clear images continued to play over and over in his photographic memory.  
Now as if almost in a trance he continued to move the cursor over the screen clicking  
on various links which led him through page after page, without really concentrating  
on what he was looking at. Moments later he realised he was staring at a particularly  
gruesome picture which suddenly snapped him out of his dream-like state of mind. It  
was of a young woman's body on a carpeted floor in a bathroom of a house. Her  
throat had been cut almost severing her head from her neck and she was lying in a  
large pool of blood. Mulder read some typing underneath the macabre image and  
realised it was a crime scene photo that had originally been taken by a police officer  
in Washington DC as part of an ongoing FBI investigation. Although now someone  
had somehow copied and downloaded it to a site called? He checked the website's  
title, which stood out in bold brash capitals. MURDER MYSTERIES IN THE  
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Below this in red lettering it read…Check out  
real footage of gruesome murders in glorious Technicolor. 

Skimming briefly through the rest of the detailed account, Mulder frowned. In the  
past he had been subjected to so much horror whilst dealing with X File cases. It had  
become a routine occurrence to view such appalling scenes, but he had always felt  
deep emotion for the victims and sometimes had even cried over them. Nowadays it  
just seemed people were getting more and more sicker every day and sadly had  
become immune to human suffering. Ignoring a couple of videos this website also  
boasted it had, which he really didn't wish to see, his eyes reverted back to the dead  
girl. He couldn't understand why it was affecting him the way it was as he'd seen  
plenty of crime photos before? But for some reason he found himself drawn to this  
particular victim. For one she had been very beautiful, of Asian descent with a light  
primrose skin tone and long ebony hair. An old class photo out of her school  
yearbook revealed this to him, although he could still see those delicate features  
amidst all the horrific details. If it wasn't for the deep sanguineous gash across her  
throat he could have said she looked like she was just sleeping. How could anyone  
have ended her life this way…and how come he was now itching to find out why? 

Mulder knew there was no way in a million years the Washington Field Office would  
happily hand out any information to him. But there were other ways he could find out  
more about this murder and all he required was the aid of his computer. In earnest he  
began pressing keys until the familiar government logo appeared on the screen, then  
he entered the code he still had from memory. All thanks to his old and dearly  
departed friends, John Byers, Ringo Langly and Melvyn Frohicke…The Lone  
Gunmen. They had shown him how to hack into the FBI database whilst he'd still  
been an agent working for the bureau. Just for the hell of it at the time, as he already  
had access to all the files and information he required. How things had changed. A  
lump formed in his throat as he remembered how the guys had lost their lives when  
they'd been involved in yet another futile attempt to try and stop the government from  
using everyday folk as guinea pigs, once again involving alien technology. 'Been  
there, done that,' he thought sadly to himself, as he typed in the password.

It took him a few hours before he finally came across the file he was searching for  
which revealed several more crime scene photos of the Asian woman he'd first seen.  
This in turn led to similar cases, which he read through thoroughly, and slowly the  
pieces started to fit like a jigsaw puzzle. It seemed there had been a string of horrific  
deaths of young ethnic women, ages ranging from mid to late 20's and all dating as  
far back as the 1960's. All of whom had been discovered in front of mirrors in their  
bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms, covered in blood, some with their throats slit  
and some with their eyes gouged out! The coroner's reports suggested suicides for  
most of these incidents, as a pair of scissors had been found at the scene in one house,  
a knife in another, a razor blade, a poker, and other various items that could have  
substituted as weapons, all with the women's' fingerprints on them. However there  
were several that weren't accounted for but had been either carelessly or deliberately  
overlooked. These showed women with their eyes still intact, but which had been  
bleeding profusely. The loss of so much blood had been attributed to causing their  
deaths.

His mind suddenly revved into gear as he remembered reading a number of old  
paranormal cases where each time the victims had died, it had been in front of a  
mirror. So the majority of these cases had all in fact been written off as suicides and  
the investigations had been closed. But Mulder knew now why he'd been led to  
discovering the deaths of these young ladies. It was clear to him that these should  
have been pursued as paranormal cases. But now there was no longer even an X Files  
office in the FBI building and no one in the bureau who was qualified to pursue this  
line of inquiry anymore. Further more it made him angry that they had never given  
him any of these assignments whilst he'd been working for them. Well he still had  
the unique insight in helping solve cases like these and that was something those  
bastards couldn't take away from him! 

Letting his fingers fly over the keyboard his breathing quickened as he now realised  
what he was searching for. After discovering several links which led to a children's  
website on myths and folklore. He clicked on an icon of a ghostly silhouette of a  
Japanese woman staring out of a mirror and another website popped up in a little box.  
Then after maximising the page he read the title out aloud.

"Bloody Mary. A myth based on a true story."

\--------------------------------------------------

Our Lady Of Sorrows Hospital – Richmond, Virginia

Contrary to her partner, Dana Catherine Scully was finding there just weren't enough  
hours in the day. In fact she was the busiest she had ever been since becoming a  
medical doctor at the Catholic hospital after completing her residency in general and  
neurological surgery. It was a career she would have originally undertaken had it not  
been for that fateful choice when she decided to join the FBI. However if she had  
known back then that it was going to lead her down a dark and dangerous path, she  
might never have taken that leap of faith. Dana was happy to have left that part of her  
life behind and even if the challenges of her new job didn't get any easier, she felt  
they were far more worthwhile. Sure, she'd stood beside her partner and been a  
valuable part of the team whilst pursuing those paranormal cases. But looking back  
on those times, just exactly how many of those had she actually solved from a  
scientific point of view? She knew she could count the number on the fingers of one  
hand. Her deepest regret though was seeing Mulder extremely reluctant to give up his  
work on the X Files, when she personally had felt so much relief. 

Maybe it was due to feeling guilty on her part, that she'd persuaded him to help the  
FBI with that missing agent case? Something he could once again get his teeth into.  
Use those all-important skills that had been laying dormant inside him for far too  
long. However she had overlooked a very important fact, which unfortunately hadn't  
registered at the time. Suggesting he come on board, especially with an assignment  
involving a possible psychic, had been like handing candy to a baby. As a result it  
had almost cost them their relationship they'd nurtured over the years, when she'd  
asked him to step away. She'd only done this because she was so concerned he was  
once again letting the darkness consume him. Allowing that obsession of his to take  
centre stage. Her fears had been realised after he'd done something incredibly  
reckless, which almost resulted in him being decapitated, until she had once again  
stepped in and rescued him. They had in fact saved each other's skins on numerous  
occasions in the past. But Dana knew she didn't want that life any more, so was  
extremely grateful when no more FBI agents had descended on her asking for  
Mulder's help again. Then when he'd explained to her about the deal he had made  
and how in return all the bogus charges against him had been dropped, again she felt a  
strong bout of relief. It had been incredibly unfair, but at the same time meant they  
could completely disappear from under the FBI's radar…and no longer be hassled.

Since being on the run, it had been rather a nightmare having to secretly visit her  
partner in the hideaway he'd bought in nowhere Ville. But over time, not having X  
Files to pursue had meant their relationship could blossom, as it did both emotionally  
and physically. So eventually when he'd finally asked her to move in with him, she'd  
accepted gratefully. Then after this latest reluctant involvement with the FBI, she'd  
begged him to take them somewhere beautiful, where they could escape from  
everything bad in the world. An impossible task in the long run she had thought, but  
persuading him to go to one of the islands off the coast of Florida was the best  
decision she had ever made in a long time. However all too soon it had been over and  
she'd had to return to reality with a painful bump! 

This was her first month back in the hospital and things had reached a hectic level.  
Already under a heavy workload, she still found herself offering her help to a friend  
and colleague, a surgeon who had been thrown into a code red situation when he was  
required to operate on a patient who had gone into heart failure. This particular  
cardiac disease had caused blood clotting within the heart, resulting in a severe attack.  
Luckily he was able to get the person's heart beating again with the aid of a  
defibrillator and now further tests were being carried out. But this type of disease had  
been known to prove fatal. Heart surgery wasn't even her department, but she knew  
she could offer some assistance which might possibly save another patient and that  
was the most important thing.

In the not so distant past during the time when the FBI wanted her and her partner's  
help, Scully had been torn in two trying desperately to help a young boy with a  
seemingly incurable degenerative brain disease known as Sandhoff. After her fellow  
colleagues assured her the symptoms were untreatable and the medical board refused  
to offer any help, she turned to the Internet for advice. This led her to trying  
intercostals stem cell therapy as a last resort, after receiving full permission from the  
boy's parents. At the time she knew she was taking a huge risk as each procedure she  
performed in the operating theatre put the boy through an incredible amount of  
suffering. Also there was no way she could promise a positive result. The pressure  
she had been under caused her to almost lose her faith, but then in a strange twist of  
fate it had been restored by the mumblings of a paedophile ex-priest no less. After the  
FBI case she had taken that step and continued surgery on the boy. The angels must  
have been on her side because slowly he'd shown an improvement. After being  
subjected to the evils men were capable of with such knowledge, which led to the  
Frankenstein murder case, this remarkable event had given her hope once more. So  
she'd continued looking into this research and discovered there were other positive  
ways this could be put to use.

She had read that in the past in Asia, stem cell therapy had been tested on patients  
suffering from heart failure due to cardiomyopathy, which was a disease of the heart  
muscle resulting in the deterioration of the function of the actual organ. She knew  
from her medical background this meant people with this disease were often at risk of  
arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both. However with the aid of transplantation  
it could be possible to replace the damaged cells and establish new blood vessels,  
which would then restore contractility and the blood supply to the heart. Early results  
on these tests had been extremely good. And nowadays there was a revolutionary  
new treatment for this disease that actually rebuilds the heart tissue using the patient's  
own stem cells.

After putting her friend, a Doctor Mike Holmes onto this amazing discovery, he  
began the treatment almost right away. It was far too early for results yet but he had  
thanked her profusely and insisted on taking her out to dinner. However she had  
politely declined on the invitation telling him her reward was in being able to offer  
her assistance, and that she would pray it would prove positive.

Now as she sat at the desk in her office, pouring over a patient's x-rays Scully thought  
about the kindness he had shown her. Something that was very rare in this day and  
age. And a tiny part of her wished she had taken up his offer, after all it had only  
been in friendship hadn't it? Having been introduced to Mark several months ago,  
she had made it quite clear she was in a serious relationship and he had shown her  
nothing but respect after that. So why had she chosen to shy away from his  
invitation? Well let's face it, the man was very good looking and charming, similar to  
Mulder in many respects but without the paranormal obsessions to go along with it.  
Was there a possibility she might have let it lead to more than just a platonic  
involvement if she'd gone to dinner with him that day? Truth was she loved Fox  
Mulder with all her heart and soul, but the constant fear of returning to that darkness  
always loomed in the back of her mind no matter how hard she tried to keep it at bay.  
Would it one day pull them back under those murky waters and push then away from  
each other, only this time with such force that it would drive them apart forever?

"Don't even consider it," she said to herself harshly.

As if on cue there was a short rap on the door to her office and in walked the  
handsome doctor with a young lady she hadn't seen before. Both were dressed in the  
latest surgeon's fashion that seemed to remain timeless, green overalls and white  
surgical masks, only Mark had pulled his down under his chin.

"So, how is he doing?" Scully asked. She realised she'd probably asked Mark this  
question a fair number of times. But since her prayers had been answered and now  
Christian Fearon was on the road to recovery, she was hoping for the same results  
with his patient.

"Well I performed an angioplasty, and the patient didn't suffer from another  
myocardio infarction. The widened artery started to restore blood flow but after  
further ECG scans I discovered more blood clots. The poor guy has undergone  
several operations over this past month. But then thanks to you we turned to the stem  
cell therapy." Mark gave her a warm smile, "He's by no means out of the woods yet,  
but this does seem to be to be working out."

She gave a sigh of relief. "That's good news Mark." Then turning her attention  
towards the stranger in the room, she raised an eyebrow.

"Ah yes. I guess I should formerly introduce this young lady. Dr Dana Scully I  
would like you to meet Miss Naomi Hanako. She's a medical assistant who recently  
moved here from Japan. Since she's also my cousin, I arranged for her to come and  
work with us for a spell. That is until she gets tired of the USA and desperately  
wishes to return to her homeland." 

He gave her a wink, and she returned with a polite nod of her head.

Scully came from behind her desk and walked over to the girl, who at first glance she  
had believed to be in her mid-twenties, "It's very nice to meet you Naomi", she said  
courteously. Almost as soon as she'd shook her hand she realised it was very cold to  
the touch. Okay they were in the middle of February; only the interior of the hospital  
was always kept at a regular temperature. She also couldn't help feeling a little  
uneasy by her presence. Also, why hadn't she taken off the surgical mask? 

The young girl bowed graciously. "It's really nice to meet you Dr Scully. I've heard  
a lot about you."

"You're not in the operating theatre now. It's quite okay for you to remove the mask.  
I assure you there's no lethal germs in here." She realised that had come out in a  
rather rude fashion, and she hadn't intended to be so abrupt in her manner. But  
something was niggling in the back of her mind and Scully just couldn't understand  
why"

Mark gave her a puzzled look. "Dana, no need to scare the poor girl on her first day."

"I'm so sorry." Naomi sounded genuinely shaken. Then tentatively she took off the  
facial mask and held it in both hands.

It looked to Scully like she had been almost afraid to remove it? Yet underneath the  
white cotton shield the woman was to put it simply, beautiful. Having a complexion  
like porcelain with large dark doe like eyes under thick lashes, why on earth would  
you want to hide it? Perhaps the girl was just shy? Suddenly Dana felt rather guilty  
over the way she'd spoken to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm probably just tired." She realised  
subconsciously she had been analysing this new assistant far too deeply. 'That's what  
comes of spending years and years devoted to weird phenomenon and the like,' she  
thought to herself. 'You just can't seem to shake it. Damn his spooky sense for  
rubbing off on me!'

"That's alright Doctor Scully," Naomi said, quietly. "I'm just a little nervous at being  
here. I've never worked this far away from home, and moving to the United States is  
proving quite daunting…as well as exciting." She gave a timid smile and added, "But  
I am looking forward to working with you."

"With me?" Scully queried.

"Yeah, I forgot to add…" Mark began, handing her the necessary paperwork he had  
tucked into his belt. "Naomi here is a qualified physician's assistant.  
"  
Taking hold of his cousin's hand he started to guide her gently towards the door.  
"Could you excuse us for a moment Naomi, I need to explain some things to Dana."

"Of course," she replied, and left the room.

Scully had been briefly skimming over Naomi's resume revealing her qualifications,  
skills and places she'd studied as a medical student, then raised an eyebrow at him.  
"So among various general and office duties she's going to be my chief assistant in all  
my surgeries? That good is she, Mark?"

"Yes," he replied with a smile. "You won't need to fully train her either as she has  
had neurosurgical experience. She worked alongside a surgeon for the six years in the  
Nakamura Memorial Hospital in Hokkaido."

"Impressive," Dana stated. "So why isn't she there any more?" Before he could  
reply she cut in with, "Look, I never hired an assistant because I don't need another  
one Mark. Not at this present time at any rate."

"Dana, I know you are snowed under with work, so don't tell me you don't need the  
help," Mark replied, trying to make her see how stubborn she was being. Before she  
could say anything in her defence he added, " I also have a personal reason for  
bringing her to you."

"I'm listening."

"It's a long story."

"Aren't they always?" Scully replied, feeling a little impatient.

"Okay, I'll try to keep this brief."

"Please do."

"Last year Naomi spent time in a psyche ward after having a nervous breakdown. She  
had been living with her fiancé for about four months when without any warning he  
suddenly killed himself. He was discovered in their apartment with his throat cut!  
His fingerprints were all over this kitchen knife."

Scully's eyes widened. "Oh god."

"That's not all. In that same year her sister apparently committed suicide as well.  
She was a few years younger than Naomi and a gifted musician who was heading for  
a very promising career. She had everything to live for yet was found dead in their  
mother's house, both wrists slashed."

"Where was the father?" Scully asked, shocked.

Mark bowed his head. "He died in a plane crash a few years before these incidents."  
Taking hold of Scully's hand he added, "He was my Uncle and I felt I owed it to his  
wife to take care of Naomi after she came out of hospital. Sachi just wasn't coping  
since the death of her youngest daughter and wasn't strong enough to be there for her.  
Ironically her name means blessed or lucky," he added, sadly.

"So you took her under your wing?" 

"Yeah. And she's been just fine since she came over here, managed to stand on her  
own two feet once more. But she's bright and intelligent and needs to be working  
again. I was kind of hoping you'd be okay with this?" He knew he was maybe  
sounding a little desperate but needed her approval.

Scully sighed and dropped his hand. "I understand this girl's plight Mark, and you  
being family wishing to help her. But you should have discussed this with me before  
you brought her to my office."

"I realise that Dana, and I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "But I promise you she  
will be nothing but an asset to you, she knows her stuff. However if there's any sign  
of any change in her mental state of mind I will take full responsibility and relieve her  
of her position with you."

"That's mighty nice of you, Mark," she replied with a touch of sarcasm. "I presume  
she's on medication?"

"Yes, diazepam. She was on much stronger antidepressants during her time in the  
psychiatric unit. But like I said she's improved a great deal since then and the  
depression is no longer affecting her functioning in every day life."

"All right, Mark," she said defeated. "Let's give it a trial run. But if I find she cannot  
handle the work then I will terminate her employment. After all we are here to save  
people and if someone isn't focused on the task at hand it could endanger patients  
lives. I can't have that."

"Absolutely, Dr. Scully," he replied, gently emphasising on the word 'doctor'.  
"Seriously though," he added, "Thank you for doing this. She's had such a rough  
time of it poor kid. I just want to see Naomi working to her full potential again."

"Any time Mark," Scully, replied. She gestured towards the door. "You can ask her  
to come back in now and I'll start showing her the ropes." Putting a hand on his  
shoulders she added, "I really hope this works out?"

\-----------------------------------------------

Single-Story Rural Home in Nowhere, Virginia 

Retired agent Fox William Mulder glanced at his watch and the numbers 4.20pm  
flashed back at him in an eerie green fluorescent glow. He'd been making numerous  
phone calls to the Washington bureau for at least an hour and was getting nowhere  
fast. He had really hoped that Kimberly would have patched him through by now to  
his old friend who had still managed to maintain his superiority in the FBI, Assistant  
Director Walter Sergi Skinner. But her most recent excuse was that he was in a very  
important board meeting and could not be disturbed. Mulder had known this was in  
all probability a lie but had continued to remain on hold for a further 30 minutes, then  
had reluctantly given up.

But he was damned if he was going to be defeated. Punching in the numbers once  
more, which was becoming like a mantra, he waited until the secretary answered with  
her cheery demeanour that was now beginning to get on his nerves! 

"Assistant Director Walter Skinner's office. Can I help you?"

"Kimberly, it's me again," he began sharply. "Please don't give me that 'he's still in  
a meeting' crap. I need to speak to him!"

"Mr. Mulder I would appreciate you not use that tone of voice with me," Kimberly  
said rather perturbed by his manner. "It's not my fault he was in a meeting."  
"I'm sorry," Mulder apologised. "It's just he's the only one who will listen to me  
over there. But yeah, I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you." Then it  
struck him what she'd just said. "So he's free now?"

Kimberly sighed heavily. She'd always thought of Fox Mulder as a very intelligent  
man, who was also very good looking as well, which she believed to, be a rare  
combination in the male species as a whole. But everyone has flaws and in this case it  
was his irrational way of looking at the world, where everything had to relate to the  
unknown and how he could see underhanded conspiracies in almost everything. She  
had never understood that part of his behaviour, and probably never would.

"I'll see if I can patch you through."

"Thank you," Mulder replied, almost relieved.

There was a brief pause on the line. Then he heard his ex-bosses deep dulcet tones on  
the other end of the phone, and quickly realised he was sounding non too pleased.

"Mulder, what on earth is it? Kimberly says you've been trying desperately to get a  
hold of me?"

Now he finally had his attention, he suddenly realised what he was about to suggest  
could in all likelihood fall on deaf ears? But Skinner was the only person who had  
been there for him during his time as an agent in the FBI, well most of the time at any  
rate. So hopefully he'd listen to what he had to say, but where to start? He thought  
he'd better try and keep it polite, whatever decided to come out of his mouth.

"Sir, I… I found some old cases on the Net, revealing the brutal deaths of several  
women over the years, dating back to the sixties. But the bureau closed them on  
account that they were classed as suicides and nothing more. Only…"

"You hacked into the FBI's database?" Skinner interrupted, sternly.

"Um?" Mulder hesitated, knowing full well this was a felony and it could have  
landed him in deep water telling the Assistant Director this. "I…I guess I did, Sir," he  
admitted, defeated.

Walter Skinner let out an exasperated sigh down the phone. "Go on."

Realising his ex-boss was going to reluctantly let him off the hook, as it were, and not  
press charges he carried on with trepidation. "I…um…believe there were paranormal  
reasons for those deaths, Sir."

"Mulder?" 

He heard his name uttered in a low ominous tone.

"Sir, they all died in front of mirrors and I used to have cases revealing this  
phenomena and…"

"Mulder, you don't have the X Files any more," Skinner cut him off abruptly.

"I realise that, Sir. Don't you think I don't?" he replied, a touch of anger brewing.

"So, why can you not let it go, Mulder? Move on, for god's sake."

Skinner had sounded extremely harsh and that upset him. But he carried on trying to  
remain calm.

"Sir, you valued my contribution once upon-a-time. Sure, you showed your approval  
reluctantly sometimes. But you also showed me some respect and I believe I returned  
that respect?"

"Mulder?" Skinner began, again.

But before he could add anything else his former agent carried on with what he was  
trying to say.

"They took it all from me," Mulder said, very quietly, breathing slowly. He  
swallowed hard trying not to let the tears follow. "You know as well as I do how  
unfair that was."

Skinner's voice took on a gentler tone. 

"Yes, I do." 

"It was everything I had" Mulder said, his voice barely audible. "Everything that I  
was."

This time Skinner's sigh was sympathetic. 

"You have Scully now and a new life together. Isn't that important?"

"Of course it is. But, I still need to do what I believe I was put on this god forsaken  
earth for," he replied dejectedly.

Skinner sensed the tension in his former agents voice and decided to approach  
carefully. "Why, Mulder? I mean why can't you just drop this and move on? The  
last involvement with the FBI almost cost you your god dammed life!" His voice rose  
slightly. "You should never have been asked to help look for that missing agent."

"That was Scully's doing," Mulder said, abruptly. "She's the one who asked me to  
help them. But then later I realised the good I could do and so I had to stay on board."  
He gave a heavy sigh. "What good am I if I can't help people, huh? Especially those  
who no one else wants to help, because the paranormal is involved?"

"You are not everyone's saviour," Skinner said, softly. " No one should have that  
kind of a burden on their shoulders."

The irony in that sentence almost made Mulder laugh out loud.

"So, the FBI is never going to require my assistance again? Fine! I'll just stay out of  
the way when the fucking invasion occurs in 2012." Okay that was a stupid and  
pointless retort he decided, because the chances of stepping away unscathed from an  
impending apocalypse was almost next to impossible.

Walter Skinner's breath caught in his throat. He had carelessly overlooked this very  
real and looming threat, maybe because he seriously didn't think his mind could cope  
with it right at this present time. But he also knew in that not so distant future Fox  
Mulder would indeed get dragged back, kicking and screaming if need be, to become  
an ally for the FBI.

"Gone quiet, all of a sudden have we, Sir?" Mulder asked.

"I just don't know what else to say," he replied, admitting defeat. "All I can advise is  
you keep away from these FBI cases, old and new. And go and live your life with the  
woman you love. It's the best I can offer, Mulder." A brief pause then, "I'm sorry."

"You mean enjoy what time we have left don't you, Sir?"

"Yes," Skinner replied. Truth was no one knew how much life they had left in him or  
her. Someone could get run over by a bus the next day. Or die trying to save  
mankind from a race of grey aliens intent on claiming re-ownership of their planet.  
He refrained from going along those lines any further.

Mulder changed the subject abruptly. "I thought you might be able to help me re-  
open at least one or two of these cases?" he said, the tension building inside himself.  
"I guess I was expecting too much from you?"

"I'm sorry Mulder. I can't help you, not with what you're asking. Not this time,"  
Skinner replied, a forced calmness in his voice.

"So, you're saying you'll be there for me when the fucking aliens invade? Well I  
guess I should be grateful for that at least," Mulder said, his voice dripping with  
sarcasm. "Thanks for nothing…Sir."

"Please Mulder!" Skinner exclaimed. "My hands are tied, you know that?" Before he  
could let the man reply he added, "Just forget The X Files and everything ever  
connected to them, for your own sake," he pleaded.

"My own sake? That's rich coming from you, Sir" Mulder was starting to let the  
anger seep through, but then somehow managed to keep it at bay. "Walter, I know  
they'll finish your career if you help me in any way." He sniffed a little as his eyes  
began to brim with tears. "I'm sorry I bothered you."

"I'm sorry to…so sorry." Skinner had been extremely resentful having to watch  
while the FBI tried to destroy Fox Mulder's reputation and good name yet could do  
nothing about it. Now the feeling was back in full force because he was just as  
helpless. "Mulder," he said, softly, not allowing his former agent to hear the anger in  
his voice. "Don't call here again. Take Scully and go away together, far away from  
this."

"Already done that, Sir," he replied, resigning to the fact he was going to receive no  
further help from the AD. "Tropical Island, the whole shebang."

There was a pause on the other end of the line then he heard Skinner making some  
feeble excuse.

"Mulder, I have to go. I'm scheduled for another meeting with the board of directors." 

Walter Skinner felt incredibly guilty having to end the conversation this way. But  
there really was nothing more he could offer. Those bastards held the reins and he  
would have to keep tagging along. Or just like Mulder, would be forced to resign  
from his job and it was a pivotal position he did not wish to lose.

"Of course you do, Walter," he replied letting out a long heavy sigh. 

"Take care, Mulder," Skinner said, quietly. Could he have been more transparent  
with those words?

"You too…Sir."

With a heavy heart Mulder hung up the phone then glanced over at his laptop which  
still displayed a website revealing the folklore tale about 'Bloody Mary'. Just what  
had he been expecting from Skinner, a miracle? There was nothing the man could do  
and it had been ridiculous to even think he could. The 'powers that be' owned him  
hook line and sinker. He was just going to have to work out another way to pursue  
these cases himself. Oh but he would find a solution, because no way was he going to  
give up that easily. And as for the possible extinction of mankind that was looming  
out on the horizon? It was probably best to try and not dwell on that subject for now,  
more for his own sanity than anything else. 

Reaching over to turn off the printer, Mulder stood up and stretched his arms above  
his head, hearing his bones crack from under the strain as he did so. Damn, he was  
getting far too old for this! But the chances of retirement just seemed like an elusive  
dream. Snatching a manila folder from off his desk he re-read the title he'd scrawled  
out with a black marker – B. M. folklore v Mirror girls' deaths. Then tucking it under  
one arm, he strode out into the living room, grabbed his coat off the hat rack and  
headed towards the front door, slamming it shut as he left the house.

\--------------------------------------------------

Our Lady Of Sorrows Hospital – Richmond, Virginia

Several hours seemed to come and go without Dana Scully realising just exactly how  
much time had in fact passed. During which she had after Mark's request, taken on  
his cousin as her assistant. As an introduction to becoming her right-hand man as it  
were, she had taken Naomi through a surgical procedure involving a patient who was  
having problems of the neck and lower back. Dana had shown her how to perform an  
anterior cervical fusion, which removed pressure on the nerves in the neck area, by  
removing the discs between the vertebrae that were pressing upon them. She had then  
demonstrated how to fuse the affected vertebrae together, by connecting them with  
metal plates and placing a piece of bone between them, explaining that this would  
keep the vertebrae from crushing the nerve again and eventually the added bone  
would fuse the vertebrae into one.

Dana had to admit she had been very impressed with the way the young woman had  
carefully observed every moment during the surgery and even asked intelligent and  
well thought out questions afterwards. Feeling very satisfied with her new protégée  
she'd left Naomi to complete a thorough history and physical examination on all the  
new office patients. Prior to presenting each one to her whereupon she would then  
help formulate a treatment plan among other duties. 

Finally catching a moment's rest, Dana had retired to her office and was just about to  
start munching on a sandwich that would have been the only other thing she'd been  
able to eat since breakfast, which now seemed eons away. When all of a sudden there  
was a sharp knock on her door.

"Oh please," she said, sighing heavily. Perhaps if she ignored whoever it was they'd  
go away and leave her in peace? Nice idea, but unfortunately the professional side of  
her knew she could not behave in this manner. So reluctantly returning her sandwich  
to its cellophane wrapper, she called out, "Come in!"

Expecting the visitor to be a member of staff, she was completely taken by surprise  
when the door opened just enough to allow her partner to stick his head through.  
"Mulder?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm really sorry to bother you, Scully. A nurse said you were in your office so I was  
presuming you were taking some free time?" he asked, hopefully.

Free time? And just what was that pray? "Well, I was," she replied, frowning a little.  
Then she gestured for him to come in. "Mind if I eat while we talk?" she said,  
retrieving her extremely late lunch or early dinner depending on which way you chose  
to define it? Taking a large bite out of the sandwich, mouth now full, she savoured  
the delicious contents, then added, "Sorry, it's just I haven't eaten since the crack of  
dawn."

Mulder crossed over and sat down opposite her whilst she carried on munching.  
"Course not," he said. "I haven't eaten either."

"Why not?" Scully asked, puzzled. "We've got food in the fridge? Then there's  
always take-out?" Nine times out of ten he'd usually resorted to phoning some fast  
food diner whenever he finally admitted he was hungry.

"Lost track of time," he admitted, feebly. Taking the folder he'd brought with him, he  
placed it on the desk and removed the papers he'd printed out at their home.

Scully shook her head and smiled. "So, what's kept you so busy this time?"

"A string of old FBI cases dealing with the similar deaths of young women. Only  
they were closed…when they shouldn't have been," he said, giving her a timid smile,  
whilst handing over the information he'd discovered on the Internet. Realising she  
was more than likely going to rebuke him for looking into such matters, he added,  
"Scully, I know I can solve these."

"Oh and here I was thinking you'd found some new porn site to occupy your mind,"  
she said, cuttingly. Glancing briefly through pages of typing she came across an  
artist's depiction of a haggard old woman with a severe facial disfigurement. Another  
picture revealed a stick-thin grey, drab, woman with a mass of tangled hair. Noticing  
the wording underneath clearly revealed information about a certain paranormal myth,  
she sighed heavily. "Bloody Mary, Mulder?"

He squirmed in his seat but stood his ground. "Those women all died in front of  
mirrors. Yeah, the coroner's reports gave some good reasons for suicides. But, they  
didn't account for those whose eyes were encrusted with coagulated blood…almost as  
if they had just exploded out of their sockets? Plus amongst those victims they found  
no weapons. How do you explain that?" Mulder asked, shrugging his shoulders.

Scully really didn't have time for this, but thought she had better attempt to give him  
some sort of an answer. Perhaps he would accept a logical explanation just this once  
and cease bothering her? The chances of that happening were remote and she knew it,  
but decided to give her theory anyway. "It could have been a freak medical condition.  
Maybe an aneurysm or perhaps a stroke was the cause?" 

Mulder snorted with derision. "Should have realised you'd come up with a scientific  
explanation, even if you can't completely justify it," he said, sounding a little  
annoyed. "After all that we went through in the past. The unexplained phenomena  
that we actually witnessed…and yet you still turn to your fucking medical science for  
the answers."

"Well what do you expect?" Scully retorted, now angry by his unexpected outburst.  
"I'm a doctor, Mulder! You know that's my position in life now. I want absolutely  
nothing more to do with the supernatural, and I also remember telling you this after  
our last encounter!" She shuddered as images came into her mind of the ex-priest and  
his so-called psychic connections that had led them to a perverse experiment  
involving the removing of a man's head whilst he was still being kept alive. A group  
of men had been planning to surgically attach it to a woman's body, which they would  
also have beheaded whilst the poor girl was still breathing, if she and Skinner hadn't  
stopped them in time.

Mulder sat back heavily in the chair. "If I recall, most of that last 'encounter' just  
showed us how science is capable of reaching some pretty sick achievements. All  
man's doing I believe, not mythical monsters or any other paranormal creature," he  
answered, defiantly. "Even the two-headed dog was created by genetic experiments."

Scully calmed a little, knowing he was right in this case. "Okay, so you believe these  
deaths were caused by a witch?" she said showing him the page she was referring to,  
then proceeded to read some of the text. "Mary Worth…lived over 100 years and  
dabbled in the black arts. She was found out and executed. " Skipping through  
several paragraphs she read, " Um…Legend has it that if you chant "Bloody Mary"  
three times in front of a mirror on the stroke of midnight, it will summon her angry  
spirit who is seeking revenge for the punishment of her death." Giving him a look of  
anguish she handed the pages back to him. "So do you really expect me to believe that  
all these women played that children's game when the clock struck twelve, and as a  
result of their foolishness Mary stole their eyes huh?"

"Some of them had their throats cut as well," Mulder began, sounding irritated.  
"Look there is more than one myth that could perhaps relate to these murders. One  
revealed this spirit of a woman who had originally been murdered in front of her  
bathroom mirror by her jealous husband. He had cut out her eyes so she could no  
longer see the hurt and pain she had caused him and had also removed her tongue so  
she could no longer speak his name. So if you summoned her you received the same  
treatment."

"Really," Scully sighed deeply. She realised he was about to give her a run down of  
all the related folklore that had ever been documented, and also knew she wouldn't be  
able to stop him. So resigning to this fact she sat back in her chair and continued to  
finish off her lunch whilst reluctantly listening to what he had to say.

"Another possible origin is the legend of Elizabeth Bathory, also known in Hungary  
as Countess Dracula who was rumoured to have killed young girls and bathed in their  
blood to preserve her youthful beauty. Course she wasn't named Mary, but it still  
became related to that myth."

"So, now we have vampires added to the mix?" Scully interrupted. "What are next,  
werewolves perhaps?" She knew her voice had taken on a sarcastic edge, and noticed  
the hurt in his expression.

"Please Scully…let me finish," he pleaded. 

Those sad puppy dog eyes of his were now boring into her soul, and when that  
happened there was nothing she could do but wait it out. "Sorry," she said  
apologetically. "Please continue."

"There's also a historical connection," he said, hoping she at least might find this next  
bit of information interesting.

In answer Scully just nodded her head, and rolled her eyes at him.

Not to be put off by her obvious disinterest at this point Mulder continued reading.  
"Mary Tudor who became Mary I, Queen of England was given the nickname  
"Bloody Mary" when she violently executed and burnt folk at the stake for heresy  
throughout her 5- year reign."

Glancing up at his partner, he could see her eyes were now glazing over, so much for  
trying to impress her with a piece of historical fact.

"There's also a modern myth about a local woman who was involved in a fatal car  
accident, and her face was horribly scarred before she died. She reappears in the  
mirror when summoned, with that same horrific face." He noticed her expression  
hadn't altered, so added quietly, "There's one more explanation I found, but I'm  
guessing you've heard enough?"

"You guessed correctly" Scully replied, extremely relieved that he had managed to  
somehow stop himself from continuing any further with these mundane folklore tales.  
She then realised he was starting to chew on his bottom lip, which he always did  
when he either got nervous or irritable, so decided to approach with a tiny white lie.  
"Okay, so there are these fascinating myths about this "Bloody Mary. But what has  
that got to do with these women's murders, if indeed they were even murders?" 

"That's what I want to find out," Mulder stated firmly. "Scully you knew who I was  
during all those years we worked together on the X Files. Before we got anywhere  
near as close as we are now. I'm sorry but I can't change who I am."

"I'm not asking you to do that," she said, softly. "But after the last incident where I  
saved you from being killed, I just don't want to have to face anything like that any  
more. If you must know I'd be really glad if you never got mixed up in the  
paranormal again. But…" she paused, knowing the chances of that actually  
happening were to put it bluntly, impossible. "But however much it pains me to say  
this," she continued. "It wouldn't be fair of me to try and stop you."

She regretfully realised she would never be able to completely eradicate the  
paranormal from her everyday waking life either, not when she also knew the date of  
this final alien invasion in 2012. However even now there was a part of her that  
stubbornly refused to accept this event was going to take place. It was what kept her  
from falling apart, not accepting the paranormal at face value, unlike her partner who  
welcomed it with open arms. At least she could put all of her concentration into her  
work at the hospital until such times arose if they were going to? But Mulder would  
continue to thrive on his beliefs until kingdom come, and sadly she knew it was his  
way of dealing with life as a whole.

Mulder let out a long aggrieved sigh. "I seem to remember it was you Scully who  
asked me to help the FBI with that last case. I was very reluctant to do so, but gave in  
anyway?"

"I know," she, replied. "But then when things got too heavy, I remember asking you  
to step away…but you wouldn't."

Taking hold of her hand, Mulder closed his eyes briefly then looked straight into her  
own. "No matter what happens, I won't let the darkness come between us," he stated,  
whilst at the same time wondering if he could one day find the strength to prevent it  
from entering their lives.

"Mulder you can't promise me that" she replied, sadly. "Especially while you  
continue to pursue it."

"Scully, you can't expect me to go and get a mind numbing job in an office. Now that  
would kill me," he admitted, truthfully.

She gave him a brief smile. "I'm not asking you to do that, Mulder."

"Then what are you asking?" he said letting go of her hand.

"I just want you to try…" she started to say, but the rest of her words refused to come  
out. Maybe because she feared if she'd said exactly what was on her mind, he would  
have refused to listen. It seemed as though they were destined to remain on that  
never-ending merry-go-round forever.

Mulder placed the papers back in his folder, rose from the chair and proceeded  
towards the door. "I can't let go of this," he said quietly, and then left the room.

Scully put both elbows on her desk and resignedly dropped her chin into her hands,  
closing her eyes as she did so. "That's what I was afraid of," she muttered to herself  
solemnly.

Once outside of Scully's office, Mulder leaned against the wall. Arms folded he  
uttered a small rejected sigh and closed his eyes. Why did it always have to be so  
difficult? He loved Dana Scully deeply, but more often than not wished she could try  
to be on his side when it came to understanding events that didn't have a place in the  
so-called real world. Although he knew deep down underneath all that stubborn  
behaviour she believed in the unknown just as much as him, but preferred to ignore  
the truth mainly because she was afraid to face it. And even though he personally  
couldn't fathom out her reasoning it was still her choice to make, and he shouldn't  
forget that.

Feeling rather light headed through lack of sustenance and not wishing to make the  
drive back to their home just yet, in case he passed out at the wheel of his car, he  
decided to make his way to the canteen for something to eat. He knew where it  
resided in the building as he had visited it on several occasions since Scully had  
started working here. 

Paying no attention to the cashier as he gave her the correct amount of money for a  
beef salad baguette and plastic cup of coffee, he found a free table near the centre of  
the room and seated himself down. Time seemed to stand still in the space he now  
occupied, whilst all around him various people from different walks of life went on  
about their busy life in the hospital, and he suddenly felt like an outcast thrust into the  
middle of this chaotic hustle and bustle. He would never fit in with these folk because  
he just wasn't cut out to exist in this way. And even though his partner seemed to  
have settled into this normality, claiming it was how she wanted to live her life  
nowadays? He knew, even if she kept on refusing to admit it to herself that she would  
never completely be a part of everyday life either. How could she be after witnessing  
past experiences that defied any rational explanation? Furthermore they were both  
equally aware of the nightmares yet to come, which loomed just over the horizon.  
And when that proverbial shit hit the fan then every man, woman and child on the  
planet would be affected by the impact. Everything these people ever held scared  
would be completely turned on its head, and even normality would lose all meaning  
for them. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so much of a loner? A selfish way of looking  
at the impending outcome he thought, but Mulder realised, he would become the  
centre of attention where everyone would be made fully aware of his important role in  
life, to try and prevent the devastation, which would eventually bring about the  
complete extinction of mankind. Looking around the room at this present moment  
though, he knew no one in this building knew him or what he was thinking or going  
through, no one that is except Scully. No matter what, she would stand at his side and  
should he fall, would be there to catch him.

Remaining submerged in his thoughts, Mulder opened the folder he'd become  
attached to and began browsing through the printed sheets for the umpteenth time. He  
wasn't even aware when someone spoke to him.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Receiving no response from the gentleman seated at the table, Naomi tried again.  
"Excuse me?"

"Huh?" Mulder replied, startled out of his deep contemplation. Looking up he saw a  
very petite Japanese woman, struggling with a tray of food in her hands.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but this seems to be the only table left that has some spare  
room?"

Becoming aware of the plight this young lady was in he felt rather embarrassed by his  
lack of response beforehand. "Where are my manners?" he said, taking the tray from  
her and placing it on the table. "Of course you can sit here. I'm sorry I didn't realise  
you were there. Will you please forgive me?"

"No problem, and thank you," Naomi replied, sitting down opposite him. "Looks like  
some interesting reading you've got there?" she said, indicating the piles of papers he  
had strewn out in front of him.

Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe for the minority." 

She offered a hand in his direction. "Hi, I'm Naomi," she said, shyly.

"Fox Mulder," he replied, returning the handshake, then quickly added, "Please, call  
me Mulder."

"Hello Mr. Mulder," she said, politely.

"Mulder will be just fine," he added, smiling at her.

She blushed slightly, and then decided to give her full identity to him. "In that  
case…I'm Naomi Hanako."

"That's a beautiful name."

She felt her cheeks turn a darker shade of pink once more, and returned a timid smile.  
"Thank you. It means flower child, my surname that is," she told him.

"Very pretty. So what does your first name mean?" he asked, showing an interest.

"Um…honest and beautiful," she replied, rather embarrassed. "Well they're the  
Japanese terms for it any how."

"Don't suppose you have a Japanese term for Mulder?" he asked with a chuckle.  
"No that I know of," she replied, with a grin, finding herself unable to take her eyes  
from him.

Only a few minutes had passed by since meeting this, rather charming man, and yet  
she was starting to feel at ease. This rarely happened in her life, in fact the only other  
time it had occurred was with the guy she had ended up engaged to? A wave of  
sadness washed over her when she remembered how he had taken his own life, yet  
she had never understood why as they had seemed so happy together? Suddenly she  
realised she had been staring at this stranger for a good while.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised.

"That's okay," Mulder replied, wondering why she had been finding him so  
fascinating? Then he sensed her sudden change of mood. "Are you all right?" he  
asked her.

Finding it rather comforting that this man was showing concern for her she nodded  
briefly. "I'm fine, really." She didn't wish to reveal her past to a complete stranger,  
even if he was a handsome one at that. Deciding to therefore change the subject she  
pointed to his paperwork. "I really shouldn't have stopped you from working. Are  
you a doctor here?"

"Oh my, no," Mulder replied, amused that anyone could possibly think he was in the  
medical profession. He returned the question in her direction. "Do you work here?"

"Yes, I'm a physician's assistant," Naomi replied. "I only started work at this  
hospital today, but I guess I'm finding my feet. My cousin is a heart surgeon who's  
been here for about five years now."

"And you're working for him?"

"No, I've been placed with a neurosurgeon. Scully? I mean her name is Dr. Dana  
Scully."

Mulder almost choked on his coffee on hearing her words. "You're kidding me?" he  
said, startled.

"You know her?"

Yes…she's my girlfriend," Mulder explained. 

"Oh," Naomi said, surprised. She also couldn't help feeling a little disheartened. But  
wasn't that always the way things turned out? You find an attractive man to talk to  
and then discover he's spoken for? Not to mention there were a fair number of years  
between them, so even if Mulder had been single he more than likely wouldn't have  
had his heart set on dating someone old enough to be his daughter? But still, a girl  
can dream can't she?

He couldn't help but notice how she was trying to hide her obvious attraction for him,  
and he smiled, "Sorry to disappoint you."

Naomi felt incredibly embarrassed and blushed fiercely. Getting up from her seat she  
went to grab her tray, intending on leaving immediately before she made a fool of  
herself any further. "I'm sorry," she said, hurriedly.

"Hey, there's no need to go," Mulder exclaimed. He had to admit to himself he had  
been rather enjoying her company. "We can still be friends can't we?"

Unable to resist his invitation for her to stay, she sat back down and quietly started  
eating some of the food she'd bought.

"So, what does Scully think of you as her assistant?" he asked, inquiringly.

"Um?" Naomi carried on eating, and took a sip of Coke before swallowing. "I think  
she likes me."

"You must be very good at what you do then?"

She knew he was only being polite but couldn't help being flattered by his kindness.  
"I guess?" she replied. Trying to turn the conversation around she added, "So, what  
are you working on?" Noticing his smile turning into a frown she felt awkward once  
more. "I shouldn't have been so nosey, it's really none of my business."

"Oh it's not you," he said, quickly. "It's just that I don't think you'll find any of it  
interesting."

She sensed a hidden sadness in his face that made her warm to him even more. "Try  
me," she said, gently.

Mulder shrugged then reluctantly offered her one of the loose pages. At the same  
time thinking once she'd read it, she'd probably make up some excuse to leave,  
having now discovered that the man she was talking to was a complete nutcase. Still  
he watched her and it was then that he really noticed how beautiful she was, and how  
fragile she seemed. Puccini's opera came to mind and he thought she did indeed  
remind him of Madame Butterfly.

"This is really interesting," Naomi said, returning the page to him. "I find these  
myths and folklores fascinating."

That was the last thing he'd expected her to say and it took him by surprise. "You  
do?"

"Sure. Do you mind if I read some more of this?"

"Help yourself," he said, offering her the rest of the pages.

Sipping his coffee, Mulder listened to her own views on these myths and how she had  
shown an interest in the paranormal since being a little girl back in Japan. How she  
had always been very open minded on the subject, believing that it was indeed  
possible for the supernatural realm to exist as a parallel running alongside our own  
world.

Fox Mulder couldn't believe he had found a kindred spirit in this young woman and it  
felt such a relief after all the recent negativity he'd faced from the FBI, his ex-boss  
Skinner and yes, even Scully. He had also felt such compassion when she explained  
that while she was in Japan she had been betrothed to a man, who without warning  
had killed himself, and how her sister had died that same year. Then unable to deal  
with the loss she'd ended up having a nervous breakdown.

Suddenly Mulder wished he hadn't given her this material that had obviously dredged  
up some very painful memories. "Naomi, I'm really very sorry you've had to face  
these tragedies in such short a time," he said, genuinely upset for her. Once he'd  
gathered up the papers and put them back in the folder, he took hold of her hand. "I  
shouldn't have shown you this."

"You weren't to know about my past," she told him. The concern he was revealing  
made her heart beat faster and she knew if she didn't get a hold of herself she might  
lean over and kiss him. Pulling gently from his grasp she caught her breath and  
steadied herself by returning the conversation to the paranormal.

"So, maybe "Bloody Mary" killed my sister and fiancée?" she questioned him.

Mulder wanted to tell her yes, without a doubt it was this evil spirit that was  
responsible. But thanks to Scully, had learnt over the years how important it was to  
gather as much factual evidence as you could, before accepting anything as the truth.  
"Perhaps," he said, softly.

"I must say," she began, smiling. "It's nice to find someone else who is interested in  
the supernatural."

Mulder grinned on hearing this. Interested? If only she knew how he'd spent years  
investigating such phenomena for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington  
DC. But he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her all about the X Files just yet. Maybe  
because it was still too painful to accept that they didn't exist any more, because those  
bastards had snatched them from him, and most likely burnt them for good this time.  
A memory formed where he and Scully had witnessed the office gutted by a fire,  
which he came to realise his father, the Smoking Man, had set deliberately.

"I said it's really great that I've found someone who is a believer," she tried again.

"S-Sorry," he said, snapping out of his reverie. "You wouldn't believe how pleased I  
am to hear you say that," he admitted.

The conversation carried on for a good few hours, but to Mulder and Naomi it had felt  
like a microsecond. Both of them discovered they had an even deeper connection that  
spanned from their strong interest in the paranormal, or perhaps they had known one  
another in another life? Whatever the reasons, so lost in conversation were they, that  
both were not even aware of time passing. Until that is Mulder decided to glance at  
his watch, and then realised just how late it was. He also noticed the canteen had  
closed long ago and everyone else had left.

"Ooops!" he exclaimed. "Guess we got a little carried away?" Glancing around the  
empty room, he indicated to Naomi that they were now alone.

"Oh no," she said, worried. "I was supposed to take these patient's details to Dr  
Scully."

"Well she didn't 'bleep' you, so I guess you're in the clear?" Mulder replied.

"Pardon?" Naomi asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"I mean she didn't page you," he said, pointing towards the little communication  
device attached to her uniform.

"Oh," she replied, laughing. "I guess I had better get these to her though." But as she  
rose from the table she knew she really didn't want to leave him. 

"I'll come with you if you like?"

It was almost as if he'd read her thoughts when she heard his reply. "Okay." Then she  
also checked her watch and frowned when she noticed just how late it was. "I've just  
missed the last bus home," she said, rather frustrated.

"I could give you a lift?" Mulder replied, without realising exactly what he'd said.

"It's only about quarter of an hour's drive from here, I can always take a taxi? But if  
you're sure you don't mind?" she asked, unsure as to whether she'd heard him  
correctly.

Okay, just what had possessed him to say that? He had planned to return home and  
wait patiently for Scully. She had her own car so didn't need his assistance in that  
department. Just how much longer she was going to be working though he had no  
idea, but thought he'd better go and see her before taking Naomi home.  
"It's no problem," Mulder said, rising from his seat. "But yeah, I'll come with you.  
First I need to let Scully know I'm giving you a lift."

\------------------------------------------------------

They had just reached the office door, when a nurse cornered him. "You can't go in  
there. Dr. Scully is having a meeting with Dr Holmes, the heart surgeon?"

"Shelly, c'mon it's me, her other half" Mulder said, hoping that would give him  
access.

"And Mike is my cousin," Naomi piped up. "I'm sure it'll be okay?"

"I'm sorry Fox, but I've had explicit instructions not to allow anyone in there," Shelly  
replied.

Mulder bristled on hearing her use his Christian name. "Fine. Could you just let her  
know I'm heading home then?" he asked, feeling a little frustrated. He was going to  
call her later on his cell phone anyway, which he realised to his dismay he'd  
accidentally left in the car.

"Sure, Fox."

"Again, with the first name, Shelly?" He hated it when anyone called him by this, and  
he knew Scully had told her not to on numerous occasions.

"Sorry, Mulder," she apologised. "Yeah, I'll let her know."

"Thank you," he replied.

Naomi also had a question for her. "Please can you give this to Dr. Scully? It's  
regarding one of her patients," she said, politely, handing the nurse the document  
she'd brought with her. 

"Of course," Shelly replied. "I'll give this to her as soon as she's finished with the  
meeting."

Naomi gave a little nod of her head as a gesture of thanks. 

\-------------------------------------------------

Together she and Mulder headed out of the building and over to the parking lot.  
When they reached his Taurus he opened the door to the passenger side, and politely  
held it for her while she got into the vehicle. Climbing into the driver's seat, he  
retrieved his phone from the glove compartment. Dialling the numbers he was  
unpleasantly surprised when a recorded message explained that Scully's phone was  
currently switched off, and on top of that the battery was extremely close to giving up  
the ghost, so he couldn't even leave a voice mail message.

"Just great!" he exclaimed, angrily.

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked him.

"I can't get a hold of her," he replied, frustrated. "And the phone's almost dead!"

Naomi thought for a while then decided it wouldn't hurt to offer some assistance.  
"You could always call her from my house, and let her know where you are?"

"Thanks Naomi," he said, as he started up the car. "That's very kind of you."

"What are friends for?" she replied, with a smile.

Pulling out of the hospital grounds, Mulder glanced across at her and returned the  
gesture. He was so glad this lovely young woman had entered his life. She was like a  
breath of fresh air clearing away all the cobwebs from his cluttered mind. A little ray  
of sunshine that was able to shine through the dark clouds that had hung over him for  
so long.

\---------------------------------------------------

Naomi's Place - E. Franklin St, Richmond, Virginia

Following Naomi's instructions, Mulder had driven along the I-95 then taken exit  
74B. As he turned onto the corner of 25th and Franklin, he heard Naomi telling him  
they had almost reached their destination.

He grinned when he realised there was a certain attraction nearby he had visited not  
so long ago. "Hey, you're close to East Main Street. That's where the Edgar Allen  
Poe Museum is." 

"Never been there," she admitted. 

"Perhaps I could take you sometime?" he offered.

"I'd like that," she replied, sweetly. Then pointed to a large building just in front of  
them. "This is it, 2501 East Franklin Street." 

Mulder stared in amazement when he saw it was a luxurious penthouse condominium.  
"Wow!" he exclaimed. "You live here?"

"Well actually my cousin arranged for me to stay here and is helping me pay the rent,  
as it's quite expensive," Naomi explained.

"Yeah, I can imagine," he replied, staring in awe. "Wish I had a cousin like yours," he  
joked. He would have liked to know just how much it did cost each month to live in a  
place like this, but felt it was rude of him to ask her.

"You can use the secure parking garage," Naomi pointed out, to which he obliged.

After entering the designer decorated lobby they took the elevator up a few floors, and  
stepped out onto a balcony. Mulder felt a cool breeze from one of those old fashioned  
fans and when he looked up above him, noticed the ceiling was made of pinewood.  
"Beautiful," he commented.

"The ceilings are all like that," she told him. Reaching for her keys she said,  
"Penthouse 4, this is mine."

On entering, Mulder was met by even more elegance and started to seriously consider  
the possibility of persuading Scully to move into somewhere like this with him.

"Please, allow me to give you a guided tour," Naomi suggested, eagerly, noticing how  
his eyes were widening in amazement.

"That'd be nice," he replied, interested to see what this place had to offer. "But then I  
must phone Scully."

"Oh sure," she said, flippantly. Making sweeping gestures around the room with her  
hands she told him, "Well where we are right now is the Entrance Lounge."

It was very chic and modern with white painted walls connected to a circular wall,  
which was a light mustard colour, which swept round into a long hall. Hanging up  
were some beautiful Japanese prints, one displaying a bird of paradise, and the other a  
tiger made from the finest silks. Also adorning the wall were Japanese lanterns  
glowing with candlelight. In the centre of the room was a white leather sofa, with two  
pale green circular shaped chairs made of the same material, and a circular mahogany  
coffee table on a pinewood floor. 

She led him along the hall and into the main lounge, which was of a similar style;  
only this room had large windows and a sliding door leading out onto a private  
balcony. Mulder also loved the fact she had an old fashioned fireplace, even if it did  
seem out of place with the rest of the modern décor. He then noticed a small spiral  
staircase in the corner and commented on it.

"That leads up to the bedroom," she said, and quickly added, "There's a bathroom at  
the end of the hall." Leading him into another room beyond the staircase, she said,  
"As you can see this is the kitchen. Would you like a coffee?"

"Yes I'd love one," Mulder replied. Sitting down on a black leather curved stool he  
glanced around the area, noticing it was unlike the rest of the rooms. This one was in  
a square design with pale tangerine painted cupboards and drawers, covered with a  
cream brown tiled worktop situated all around the edge. The lighting was much more  
modern, with dark orange lampshades hanging from the ceiling. Once again the  
flooring was of the same pinewood he'd seen throughout this penthouse. 

"Thanks for showing me around," Mulder said, politely. "You have a very beautiful  
place." Then he realised he still hadn't asked his host the whereabouts of her phone.  
"But I really must call Scully now." As a matter of fact he should have tried calling  
his partner as soon as he'd entered Naomi's place, but she had seemed so keen to  
show him around the condo the moment they'd arrived; he'd felt he couldn't refuse  
her kind offer.

Naomi had switched on the coffee percolator and was taking a couple of mugs from  
out of one of the cupboards. "In the lounge, the main one," she indicated.

"Thanks."

As she watched him leave the room her heart sank. Part of her was really hoping that  
Scully wouldn't answer and then he'd have no reason to leave so soon. Suddenly she  
slammed one of the mugs down onto the worktop with such force, the handle broke  
off in her hand and it crashed onto the hard floor, shattering on impact. Shocked by  
her unintentional anger, she bent down and quickly retrieved the broken pieces. As  
she did so her finger caught on a jagged edge.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, seeing the blood ooze out from a fairly deep wound.

At that moment, Mulder rushed into the kitchen. "What happened?" he asked her,  
showing concern.

"Cut myself," she replied, whilst throwing the broken pottery into a trash bin.

Mulder walked her over to the sink, and held her hand under cold running water till  
the bleeding had stopped. "Better?"

"Much," she replied, with a smile.

"Do you have Band Aids?" 

"Upstairs in the bathroom cabinet," she said, gesturing towards the staircase with a  
nod of her head.

"Okay, no problem," he replied, heading out of the kitchen.

\---------------------------------------------

He found the medicine box and was making his way along the landing, when Mulder  
noticed another room that she hadn't mentioned during his guided tour. After trying  
the handle he discovered it was locked. Suddenly he had visions of Bluebeard and the  
young wife who had been forbidden to ever enter the locked room, which had  
eventually revealed all of his previous wives, garrotted and hung up on the walls that  
were dripping with their blood. Grinning to himself he started back down the  
staircase.

"Coffee's ready!" she called to him, as he entered the room.

"Here's your med kit," he said. Taking out a Band Aid he placed it on the wound and  
pressed lightly. "That should do it."

"Thank you," Naomi said. "It was a really stupid accident," she added, wondering  
what on earth had caused her to get so worked up? "By the way, did you manage to  
get a hold of Dr. Scully?"

"Nope," he replied, shaking his head. "She's not answering the house phone either.  
That must mean she's on her way back though as I got the voice message telling me  
she was out of reach." He then noticed Naomi was giving him a slightly puzzled  
look. "Cell phone signal is pretty crap in our little neck of the woods," he stated.  
"Maybe if I try calling in about half an hour, hopefully she'll be home by then?"

"You know you are welcome to stay here as long as you want," she offered sweetly,  
handing him a mug.

"That's very kind of you, Naomi" he replied. Noticing the time displayed on the  
kitchen clock on the wall opposite him he added, "But it's getting very late. So if I  
can't get a hold of her on my next try, then I really ought to head for home, as she'll  
be wondering where I am?" 

"Of course she will," she replied, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Mulder hadn't noticed, and took a sip of the coffee. "Mmmn, this is really good," he  
said.

"Glad you like it," she replied, smiling. "But may I suggest we finish this in the  
lounge? 

"Sure."

\---------------------------------------------

Once seated on the sofa, Mulder started to feel extremely relaxed, and laid his head  
back on the plush mahogany leather. "Boy, I could get used to this," he said,  
dreamily.

"You look tired?" Naomi said, offering him a cushion, as she seated herself on the  
chair opposite him. "Here, use this."

He took it and placed it behind his head. "Thanks…only I really wasn't planning on  
sleeping here," he grinned. Finishing the coffee he placed the cup on the table and  
almost immediately felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Leaning back against the  
sofa he shook his head a few times. "It's just I feel so worn out all of a sudden." The  
room then started to spin, which alarmed him somewhat. Glancing over at Naomi  
who was now out of focus, he felt his head begin to pound and started to panic.  
"What the hell?" he said, now aware of the situation he was in. "You…you've  
drugged me?" 

"I'm sorry, Mulder," she said, almost apologetically.

"W…Why?" he asked, not quite believing this was happening.

"You'll see Yukio," she said.

"W…What?" Mulder replied, his speech sounding slurred. As his head lolled onto  
one side it felt extremely heavy and his sense of awareness was fading fast, but he  
could have sworn she'd just called him by another name, and it had sounded Japanese.

"You know what that stands for?" she asked, her voice now mocking him.

Now almost in a delirious state of mind, Mulder discovered he was having trouble  
keeping his eyes open. Realising it was impossible to respond with words, all he  
could do was shake his head, which made him feel nauseous. 

"He who always gets what he wants," she replied, a touch of anger in her voice.

As she spoke those words Mulder felt himself sinking deeper and deeper until finally  
the darkness descended.

Crossing over, she knelt beside him, stroking his hair gently whilst murmuring softly.  
"Well Yukio it's my turn, and you are going to have to play by my rules now."

Leaving her captive passed out on her sofa, Naomi made her way into the kitchen.  
After replacing the bottle of sleeping pills that had been in her medicine box, she  
returned to the lounge and walked over to a large mirror, which hung just above the  
fireplace. She couldn't help laughing when she realised Mulder hadn't even noticed it  
there, yet he'd been the one so fascinated by them and how they were connected to  
these "Bloody Mary" myths? This one in particular was enchanting, guilt edged and  
adorned with beautiful carvings of golden dragons with piercing ruby red eyes. A  
family heirloom her mother had passed on to her after she'd expressed a liking for it.  
However during her childhood it had spent many years in a crate down in her parents'  
basement until she'd discovered it and insisted on hanging it up in her bedroom. Then  
when she was packing to go over to America, she had decided to take it with her. 

Now almost in a trance like state, she picked up a brush from off the mantelpiece and  
slowly began to stroke it through her ebony hair. As she stared deeply into the mirror,  
at first it began to shimmer as if the oval glass was now becoming translucent.  
Captivated by what was happening, she watched her image transform into a beautiful  
woman, who looked like a slightly older version of her, only she had porcelain skin,  
which seemed to glow in an aura of pure light. Suddenly her reflection altered again  
revealing a horribly disfigured visage, lips savagely torn open from ear to ear, with  
blood trickling down its face. And even though the image was unable to speak  
through her horribly mutilated mouth, Naomi was able to hear the words clearly in her  
mind. 

"Thank you for returning him to me", Kuchisake said. "Now I'll be able to give my  
dear husband another precious moment he will never forget…and one which he so  
richly deserves."

\-------------------------------------------------

Our Lady Of Sorrows Hospital, Richmond, Virginia – February 16th 2009

She had spent most of the morning in one of the operating theatres, undergoing an  
extremely delicate procedure, requiring her complete and total concentration.  
Performing a biopsy on a malignant brain tumour that had involved the use of  
microscopic surgery. Yet another revolutionary breakthrough in the world of science;  
this allowed a surgeon the ability to magnify small fields of interest during an  
operation, as well as provide light in small cavities. During that time her  
professionalism as well as caring for the patient's well-being hadn't allowed Scully to  
think about anything else but the task at hand. However after completing the surgery  
successfully, she had returned to her office without a word to anyone. 

Picking up the phone she dialled her partner's cell number, which she had done  
numerous times during the night. Then after receiving no answer yet again, she  
started to become worried. Just where in god's name was he? However before she  
could contemplate on any answer, there was a knock at the door. 

"Yes?" she called out, sounding rather tense. It was the last thing she needed right  
now, as she really didn't want anyone to disturb her. 

Dr Mark Holmes entered and walked straight into the room, a worried look etched upon  
his face.

“Mark? Is everything okay?” Dana asked, forgetting her own troubles for a moment.

“I believe Naomi wasn’t your chief assistant in surgery today?” he asked, concerned.  
“No,” Scully replied. “But you’ve no need to worry,” she added, trying to reassure him. 

“She called and told me she wasn’t feeling well; thinks she might be coming down with  
the flu? So I gave her some sick leave, and told her to stay at home and rest.”

“Ah,” Mark sighed with relief. “There’s a lot of that going around lately. I’ll  
give her a call later and see how she’s doing.” It was then he noticed his colleague  
was looking rather miserable. “Hey, you all right Scully?” he asked, concerned.  
“A nurse told me you seemed rather distant today?”

That must have been one of the nurses who had assisted her during the last surgical  
procedure. Usually she thanked each one of them for their help, only this time she  
had refrained from doing so, wishing only to escape to her office for sanctuary.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"You don't look fine," Mark said, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Did you  
get any sleep last night?"

She could see he was only being a friend, but did not wish to be interrogated by him  
right now. "Comes with the job description Mark, you know that," she stated firmly,  
averting her eyes from him.

However Mark knew their meeting had ended by about 11 p. m., which meant she  
would have most likely arrived home close to midnight, so should have managed to  
get at least four or five hours of shuteye. He could also see she was now refusing  
to look at him.

"Dana, c'mon what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Realising she wasn't going to be able to keep her personal problems private any  
longer, she reluctantly gave in. "Mulder didn't come home last night," she said,  
worriedly.

"Have you any idea where he might be?" Mark asked, slightly annoyed. Scully had  
already explained to him that in the past this guy of hers had a nasty habit of  
ditching her, and now he was feeling none too pleased, because from where he was  
standing it looked like she was getting the same treatment all over again.

"I've been calling his cell phone over and over, and nothing…it's dead to the world!"  
she exclaimed, bitterly.

"Dana, you don't deserve this," he told her angrily. "If he is incapable of keeping  
his phone charged, or hell while we're at it, can't even be bothered to call you?  
Then why should you worry about him, huh?"

"You don't understand Mark," she replied, her voice wavering slightly.

"Then explain it to me," he said, realising he was perhaps pushing her a little more  
than he should have been. But the truth of the matter was he hated seeing her like  
this, and also knew when she was upset; it usually had something to do with her  
partner.

Scully did not wish to give a detailed account on this latest craze that Mulder had  
found to occupy his mind. But at least Mark was already aware of his obsession's  
with the paranormal to some extent, as she'd ended up telling him when he'd first  
come across her one morning looking so depressed. So she decided to explain her  
reasons to him, but keep them as brief as possible.

Mark decided he was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt, as she gave a  
sketchy description about the Bloody Mary folklore tales Mulder had described to her.  
But he noticed she kept pausing a great deal and could tell it was because she didn't  
want to go into any more detail about the paranormal than she had to. 

"Dana?" he interrupted, breaking up her line of thought. "I seem to recall you  
telling me before how Mulder disappeared, on numerous occasions in fact, while you  
were working for the FBI?"

"Yes he did," she replied. "And nine times out of ten it was because he'd got a  
hunch, which would more often than not lead to an emotional or physical threat," she  
added, emphasizing this fact strongly. "Sometimes it was like he had a sixth sense  
or something and he would deliberately ditch me to try and keep me away from any  
possible danger that might occur."

"So do you think maybe he called "Bloody Mary" three times in front of the mirror?"  
Mark asked her, devoid of all teasing.

Surprised that he hadn't resorted to ribbing her about these myths, she confronted  
him with a question. "Don't tell me you believe in this legend?"

"No not really," Mark replied. He saw himself as a very down to earth, run-of-the-  
mill kind of guy. So in his eyes, the paranormal was nothing more than a bunch of  
spooky fairytales to frighten kids with. However he respected his work colleague and  
could tell she was hiding more than she wanted to admit. "But you do Dana, or you  
wouldn't be this concerned about your boyfriend," he told her softly.

"I try to keep an open mind, because working with Mulder sure made me question  
many things I had held sacred in life," she admitted. "We still managed to disagree  
on just about everything though. He would never stop trying to make me accept the  
supernatural was the cause on our X File cases. And likewise I would try time and  
time again to counteract his answers with a scientific explanation…and so on and so  
on." She cast a weary look at her friend and colleague and added, "We didn't see eye  
to eye on this "Bloody Mary" stuff either, and he left my office intent on solving  
these old FBI cases, because he clearly believed they were related to these myths."

"Well I'm afraid all I can offer is a rational explanation for his disappearance,"  
Mark said, trying to help in any way he could.

"Which is?"

"That maybe he's gone off sulking somewhere, because you wouldn't listen to him?"  
he suggested.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Mark," she said, giving a hint of a smile. "I can  
see that any rational person would jump to that kind of conclusion..."

"But you think it's something else?" he interrupted. " Look all I'm suggesting is you  
give it a few more days. Then when Mulder's calmed down he'll most likely come  
home with his tail between his legs." He took hold of her hand and squeezed it  
gently. "Until that time maybe I can persuade you to have a drink with me? I really  
would like to try and cheer you up if I can?"

"That's really kind of you Mark," she said, gently pulling her hand away. "But I  
think I'll pass."

He feigned surprise by the rebuke of his offer. "Oh, Dana I'm truly offended."  
Then a smile broke through. "Don't tell me you'd rather go home and sit in your  
empty house all alone so you can worry yourself even more about Mulder? C'mon it's  
only a drink and I for one would love your company."

Dana realised he was going to keep on trying this art of gentle persuasion until she  
finally agreed to go with him, and after all he was trying to help in his own way?  
She made her decision then and there, to take Mark's advice and wait a couple more  
days. If Mulder still hadn't returned, then she would take matters into her own hands  
and turn towards the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She knew if she resorted to  
this plan of action that they would be far from overjoyed to see her, especially if  
her partner was the key reason she was contacting them. But hell, they damn well  
owed Mulder big time, after kicking him out of the bureau and shutting down the X  
Files division for good. Especially that Agent Mosley Drummy, who had persuaded her  
to get her partner to come to their assistance the last time!

“Okay Mark,” she smiled sweetly, gathering up her coat and briefcase. “Just one  
drink, mind you.”

His eyes brightened, realising he had finally started to break through that layer of  
Dana Scully which she tended to keep secret from everyone around her. It was a part  
she kept well hidden from her everyday working life, and had only shared with her  
partner Mulder it seemed? However strange and completely unbelievable it might  
appear to him, he couldn't help but feel rather privileged that she had opened up  
about such things, which were obviously very personal. 

"Ever the gentleman I see?" Scully said, as he opened the door and held it for her.

"Well I try," he grinned. "Okay, next stop Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar."

"You sure know the finest of places to take a girl," she teased.

"Sure do maam," he drawled in a terrible Texas accent.

Without warning a memory surfaced where Mulder and she had been sitting at a table  
adorned with a red and white cloth, happily tucking into Buffalo wings. Scully  
remembered how during their conversation he had reached over, and with a napkin  
had tenderly dabbed at some barbeque sauce she had left on the side of her mouth.  
That innocent gesture, among so many more that followed, had led to them falling  
deeply in love with each other. So much so that now she just couldn't imagine her  
life without him.

"Please be okay?" Scully prayed, hoping he would hear her thoughts. After all, this  
type of silent communication had worked for them a few times in the past, so why  
couldn't it do so again? Receiving nothing but Mark's ever-present voice now trying  
to convince her just how great the food was at this Grill & Bar, she heaved a small  
sigh, nodded and quietly closed her office door behind them.

\---------------------------------------------------

Naomi's Place - E. Franklin St, Richmond, Virginia

His first realisation proving he had returned to the land of the living became  
painfully clear when Mulder was met with a throbbing pain behind his eyes, so straight  
away decided to keep them closed. Attempting to relieve the pressure by rubbing his  
head with his hands was immediately thwarted, when he discovered he wasn't able to  
reach that far. Then he heard a small metallic clinking, of metal hitting against  
metal, and just from the sound became aware that he was in a pair of handcuffs. As  
a slight panic began to set in he allowed his eyes to flutter open and realised he was  
lying curled up on a wooden floor. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw just  
above his head the object of incarceration was wrapped around a radiator pipe, chaining  
him to it. The room was dark but as his vision started to become a little less hazy,  
he thought he was looking at the legs of a table? Raising his head slowly, as it was  
still pounding quite considerably, on closer inspection he could see an office desk as  
he noticed a stack of folders towering above him. Then he noticed a rectangular shape  
was casting an eerie fluorescent light onto the surface, and realised it was a computer  
monitor. It was against a wall which he could just make out from its silhouette,  
revealed a calendar pinned to it displaying a brash photograph that looked like the  
skyline of a city, Hong Kong maybe? It also showed it was the month of February.

Mulder thought that perhaps he was in the 'locked room' as he didn't recognise any of  
his surroundings? Apart from her bathroom and sleeping quarters it was one place  
she hadn't revealed to him during the guided tour of her condo? But just who was  
'she'? Mulder's mind struggled to remember, the Japanese woman who he'd brought  
home that night? Forcing his body to turn around wasn't an easy task considering the  
unnerving, not to mention highly uncomfortable predicament he had discovered  
himself in. It was then he realised she was leaning over him dressed in a little black  
silk negligee. But what disturbed him the most was the fact she was wearing a  
pristine white surgical mask. Then he noticed a syringe in her left hand, and his fear  
increased a notch.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked, hearing the nervous tension in his voice as he  
spat out the words.

"Shhh," she soothed, gently. "This will help you to relax."

The tenderness in her tone was really starting to creep him out. But before he could  
make any attempt to reason with her, he felt the sting of the needle in his arm and  
realised to his horror she had injected him.

"What the fucking hell was in that?" he demanded, his breathing becoming laboured.  
For all he knew she had just shot him full of cocaine, or even worse a fast acting drug  
that once released into the blood stream would kill him, like cyanide for instance?

"Don't worry," she said softly, stroking his hair with her fingertips. "It will help  
calm you down."

Mulder tried in vain to pull away from her touch. Aside from the handcuffs holding  
him in place, he was starting to become extremely dizzy, and his head felt very heavy.

"Y…You bitch!" he thought he heard himself utter, although his voice now seemed so  
distant, as if it were no longer a part of him anymore?

Suddenly Naomi ripped off the mask, revealing a hideously mutilated mouth.

"Like the Joker in Batman," he mumbled, confusion now getting the better of him.

By now Mulder was so far gone he couldn't really register anything tangible at all. In  
this delirious state her grotesquely wide blood red lips gave him the impression of a  
throat that had been severed, and even then he couldn't fully comprehend what he was  
seeing, which made him completely unaware as to whether or not what he was  
witnessing was real or imagined? The woman behind the mask, the spirit of  
Kuchisake had revealed herself to him in all her glory and she was pleased he hadn't  
resorted to screaming in terror. Even without the disguise he still couldn't observe the  
truth and see her for who she really was. No, Yukio would see only a vision of the  
beautiful woman she had once been that had captured his heart in the first place. Now  
she knew he was almost ready to submit to her completely, and then her husband  
could return to her loving embrace once more.

In the blink of an eye her image seemed to alter again, and Mulder was almost sure he  
had been smiling as Naomi's delicate features swam into view. In the very next  
moment he found himself enveloped in an erotic kiss, the taste of which was so  
overpowering. But instead of trying to push her away in disgust, which if he had been  
thinking rationally he would have done so without a doubt, he discovered he was  
actually responding, greedily devouring her mouth with an equal intensity.

Breaking the kiss, her haunting eyes stared deeply into his own, holding him hostage  
like a reflection in a mirror. "Ah, Yukio," she said breathlessly. "There you are. At  
last we can be together again my beloved." Reaching over his prone form, her own  
body shivered with anticipation as she unlocked the cuffs and helped him to his feet.  
He stumbled, so wrapping an arm around his waist; she let him lean on her small  
frame for support, which very nearly undid her.

As she led him out of the study/den and into the bedroom next door, Mulder felt he  
was allowing something else to control his movements, pulling on his strings while he  
obeyed like Geppetto's faithful marionette.

Pushing him down onto the double bed whilst locking her lips with his once more, he  
felt her soft body fall against him. Then his arms were encircling her, stroking the  
delicate fabric of her negligee, as Mulder continued to obey the puppet master.  
Completely transfixed he watched Naomi lift herself off him and undress right before  
his eyes. Feeling a stirring deep within his loins, he gasped aloud upon witnessing her  
naked form.

"Utsukushii," he breathed. "Kuchisake, my beautiful little lotus blossom." He  
realised those last words he had spoken were no longer his own, and also knew there  
was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Completely helpless, he resigned  
himself to the fact that Yukio now owned his very soul.

The spirit was overjoyed that by delving into his subconscious she had managed to  
regress Mulder back to his past self, to another lifetime that she had shared with him  
so many centuries ago in Japan. Finally the transformation was complete and now he  
belonged to her! Climbing beside her lover she slowly began to unbutton his shirt,  
savouring every enticing moment. He let her remove the garment then rushed to help,  
removing the rest of his clothing, and in a heartbeat this task was accomplished.  
Taking her time, lustful eyes roaming all over his strong muscular body, she began  
drinking in his nakedness and the sheer beauty of him.

"Yukio, this is how we were always meant to be," she whispered, her arousal growing  
stronger with each second that passed.

"Koko ni kinasai!" Mulder demanded, beckoning her with open arms, now believing  
he was Yukio, the samurai warrior who had once been possessed by her, to the point  
of obsession. "Come here my love, so I can taste your very essence."

Kuchisake obeyed without any hesitation, falling across him, letting her fingers  
entwine in his hair. He kissed her forcefully, and then gripping her tightly,  
commanded that she must completely surrender herself to his will. In answer she  
struggled to push herself upwards so she could wrap her legs around his body while  
he continued devouring her, hungrily. Gently coaxing him inside herself, she began  
to rock in a slow rhythmic motion, and felt his response when his hips began to buck  
wildly beneath her. Arching her back she thrust her small primrose breasts forward,  
to which he reached up and grabbed them eagerly, continuing to caress her in a rough  
manner. His fingernails clawed at her leaving trails of blood on her delicate skin.  
Then letting out a shuddering gasp she cried out his name in sheer ecstasy, "Yukio!"

The heat between them continued to rise, and as the sweat poured from their  
glistening bodies their passionate lovemaking increased in its intensity.

"Ohhh Kuchisake!" he yelled, body shuddering violently as he felt his release.

"Ahhh God!" she cried out, reaching her climax almost at the same time. Collapsing  
onto him completely satiated and more than satisfied, she stroked his hair as they lay  
in each other's arms breathing heavily. 

Moments passed by before the spirit of Kuchisake spoke through her host. "Thank  
you", she told the woman, whose body she inhabited. What a stroke of luck to  
discover Naomi had fallen for one of the reincarnations of her husband, without her  
help, and therefore how easy it had been to manipulate her. During their frenzied  
lovemaking she had seen only Yukio's beautiful physique, but now gazing at Mulder,  
she could see why it wouldn't be so difficult to have a physical attraction for him.  
The man was very handsome and right at this moment looked so angelic as he slept  
peacefully beside her. However nothing was going to stop her from continuing what  
she had been doing countless times since her death. "Once, I gave my heart to you  
completely Yukio," she told him, quietly. "Are we destined to have a timeless bond  
that can never be broken?" she asked, her voice now a faint whisper. Resting her  
cheek against Mulder's chest, so she could feel the gentle rhythmic rise and fall of his  
breathing, she closed her eyes allowing a solitary tear to fall. "Soon my love," she  
said, softly, listening to the gentle beating of his heart. "It won't be long now." But  
first she would let him rest before pursuing her next course of action, getting revenge  
on Yukio, for her sadistic and brutal murder.

\----------------------------------------------

Single-Story Rural Home, Virginia, USA – February 18th 2009

Dana Scully had let a few days pass by as her friend Mark suggested, but there had still  
been no sign of Mulder. 

Now as she sat anxiously on the sofa pondering the evening she and her work colleague  
had spent together, Dana became annoyed with herself. It had only meant to be one drink,  
and then she should have made up some excuse to go home. Instead she had let him persuade  
her to dine with him. Mark had tried to point out that she wasn’t taking care of herself  
and had insisted on buying her a meal with the drink he’d bought her, including an extra  
bottle of red wine to go with the dinner. After drinking far too much of the stuff,  
she’d then found herself blurting out just how upset she was that Mulder had ditched her  
like he used to do way too many times in the past, and that perhaps Mark had been right  
after all. During that evening in the Grill & Bar he had seemed the only person she could  
open up to with her problems. So when he’d offered her a shoulder to cry on, she’d  
accepted, and when he’d leaned in for a kiss, had willingly returned it. However, he  
wasn’t the type of guy who would take full advantage of a lady in distress. So when  
she’d come to her senses and he’d realised that was as far as the evening was going to  
progress, he had given an embarrassed apology and even offered her a lift home.

A case of momentary insanity, that’s all it had been. Consuming far too much alcohol so  
she hadn’t been able to think clearly, which in turn had allowed her to become open and  
vulnerable. Whatever the reasons, Scully still couldn’t help feeling guilty. And now  
she was determined more than ever to put every effort into finding the man she truly  
loved. Crossing over to the phone she picked it up and dialled the Bureau’s switchboard. 

She felt Special Agent Mosley Drummy owed her one because after all, it was Mulder and  
she who had assisted him and Special Agent in Charge Dakota Whitney with that copycat  
Frankenstein murder case, so the least he could do was offer some damn assistance.

However, when she was finally able to talk to the man, she realised to her dismay that  
all she was getting was a repeat performance from the last time her partner went missing.

“I’m sorry, Dr Scully. I can’t help you,” he ended abruptly.

“Agent Drummy, will you please just listen?” she tried again, in her best authoritative  
tone. “I explained to you that Mulder was reluctant to assist the FBI on that missing  
agent case, but I persuaded him to accompany you anyway. All I’m asking…?”

"Dr Scully," he said, rudely cutting her off right in the middle of her sentence. "I had  
nothing to do with asking him to join us on that case. That request came from the  
board of directors, I was simply the messenger."

"Okay," she snapped. "So, I'm asking as a friend, would you please help me find  
him?"

There was a long pause while she waited impatiently for an answer.

"May I remind you I lost a friend, ASAC Dakota Whitney, because she chose to  
listen to one of Fox Mulder's hunches?" he pointed out, harshly.

Scully couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Oh yes, Whitney and he had been  
inseparable, like two peas in a pod. What a load of crap! "And you blame Mulder  
for her death?" she replied, amazed he could even contemplate such a thing. "If you  
must know he was terribly upset about her murder!"

"Dr Scully, I will refer the matter to someone higher up and that is all I'm going to  
say," Drummy said, trying to end the conversation. 

"Don't bother!" she replied, angrily. "I'd rather do it myself." With that, she  
slammed the phone down onto its cradle.

Furious by Drummy's complete lack of cooperation, not to mention pig headedness,  
Dana decided she was going to dial her ex-bosses home number. No way was she  
going to attempt to go through the FBI's switchboard again, not after being made to  
hold for forever and a day, the last time. Besides it was late in the evening so  
hopefully Walter Skinner would have left his office by now? If not, then she would  
leave him an urgent message on his machine. On many occasions he had been there  
for both herself and Mulder when they were agents under his authority. He'd also  
stepped in the last time her partner had done a disappearing act and she knew if he  
hadn't, they would most likely never have gotten out of that makeshift experiment  
lab alive!

Wearily she walked over to her partner's study intending to retrieve the address book  
from inside one of the desk drawers, as she couldn't remember Skinner's number off  
by heart. As she entered the room she was once more met with Mulder's wallpaper  
design. It reminded Dana of the X Files office they used to frequent and she knew it  
had also been his intention to replicate the old haunt. Sighing heavily she realised  
that by surrounding himself in all of this paranormal paraphernalia, he was never  
going to be able let go of the past. Just then she spied the laptop on the desk, and  
chided herself for not thinking about it before. Maybe if she checked his messages it  
might give her a clue as to his whereabouts? After switching it on then typing in the  
password 'TRUSTNO1' that he had given to her in the past, she was relieved to see  
he hadn't changed it and could still gain access. Unfortunately checking through  
the e-mails gave her no luck whatsoever and she was just about to turn it off in  
defeat, when Dana thought about the information he had shown her in the hospital  
three days ago, all about the 'Bloody Mary' legends? After going into My  
Documents, she found one folder with the initials B. M. typed underneath. Once  
opened, this revealed several files copied from different web pages which on  
inspection just gave her varied tales related to the myth, all of which Mulder had  
already explained to her, before he vanished. But there was another folder in this  
file, labelled with the letters SMW. Now rather curious, she clicked on it and a text  
page popped up. The first thing that caught her eye was the title that stood out in  
bold capitals.

"The Slit-Mouth Woman?" she said, puzzled.

Scully had to admit she didn't remember Mulder telling her anything about this  
myth, and began reading the text. The first paragraph revealed it was a Japanese  
Urban Legend about a woman called Kuchisake Onna who's husband, a samurai  
warrior, mutilated in a jealous rage, leaving her horribly disfigured and left with a  
mouth which extended from ear to ear in a horrible, permanent smile. She became a  
vengeful spirit, who after murdering him with his own sword, was driven to seek out  
his soul through the centuries and repeat her actions. Sometimes she could be found  
wandering the streets of Japan wearing a surgical mask.

Scully shuddered after reading that last sentence. "Surgical mask?" she said to  
herself. "It couldn't be?" Compelled to find out more about this legend before  
jumping to any conclusions, she continued reading and discovered that these people  
often wore such masks during the winter to prevent others from catching their germs,  
so the spirit never stood out in a crowd.

Scully started to scroll down the page when suddenly an artist's design came into  
view, and she gasped. The woman looked to be in her early thirties, and was  
incredibly beautiful, except for the hideous gash across her face where her mouth  
used to be. Underneath the drawing was a great deal more text, which she knew she  
couldn't afford to skim through, no matter how far fetched the whole story seemed at  
face value. So persevering, she carried on reading word for word, soaking up all the  
information that was on display. How this tale was related to the 'Bloody Mary'  
myth, and the spirit could be found in many types of reflections which she could  
travel through, exacting her anger on Asian women of similar appearance who had  
the nerve to chant the name three times, whilst admiring themselves in their mirrors.  
Once summoned, she would force them to commit suicide through the power of  
telekinesis.

"Like Carrie at the prom," Scully said, remembering one of her favourite Stephen  
King novels.

She also realised the way these women died was exactly how Mulder had described.  
More information followed, revealing how this spirit disliked any beautiful woman,  
and should they come into contact with her, could sometimes feel her cold touch. 

This was starting to get really creepy, and suddenly she didn't wish to read anymore,  
but knew she had to keep going. However when she had finally reached the end of  
the document, Scully had gone rather pale. Reverting back to the previous folder it  
was then she noticed she hadn't read all of the files. So with trembling fingers she  
opened it and realised it was a side note Mulder had typed up himself, about another  
paranormal theory that if someone is killed in front of a mirror his or her soul can  
become trapped in its reflection.

Now every scrap of information she had read about this legend was weaving  
together, and she didn't like the pattern it was forming in her mind. Because it was  
making her seriously start to think that her new physician's assistant Naomi was  
somehow connected? The rational part of her wanted to say how ridiculous it was to  
come to that kind of conclusion, but her imagination was now working on overtime.  
She couldn't help remembering the incident in the hospital when the woman had  
seemed afraid to remove the surgical mask after being introduced to her, and how  
cold her hand had been when she shook it? Also how her fiancé had supposedly  
committed suicide by cutting his throat, and not forgetting the sister who had  
perished in front of a mirror. Perhaps Kuchisake ended up in Naomi's mirror? But  
why didn't she kill her like she killed the others in those old cases?

"Oh my god," she said, as the final piece of this bizarre puzzle snapped into place.  
"What if Mulder is one of the reincarnations of Kuchisake's husband, who she  
intends on murdering again?" 

Quickly closing down the computer, Scully rushed back into the living area and  
grabbing the phone's receiver, re-dialled the FBI's switchboard. She knew it was  
going way out on a limb here, but as far as she was concerned right now reality was  
going to have to take a back seat, because fear for her partner's life was far more  
important than being rational.

"Please could you put me through to Agent Mosley Drummy?" she asked the  
operator. "Tell him it's Dana Scully and it's urgent!" she stressed, hoping the man  
hadn't left the building yet, while at the same time praying he wouldn't choose to  
ignore her completely this time. A minute or two passed then she heard his voice on  
the other end sounding rather annoyed, so nothing had changed there then?

"Don't tell me? Mulder has been abducted by little green men who are threatening  
to destroy the world?" he sneered.

Scully stiffened on hearing his cruel jibe, because he didn't even know how true  
those words had been regarding Mulder. And how those 'little green men' were still  
very much intent on accomplishing that goal.

"No," she said, abruptly. "But I do know where he is now, and I'm going to require  
your help."

"Where?" Drummy asked, wearily. To be completely honest he really couldn't care  
less what trouble Mulder had gotten himself into. But he had to admit he admired  
Scully's persistence, so would force himself to listen to what she had to say, for a  
little while at any rate.

"I found some information on his computer." Scully paused for a moment, realising  
she couldn't tell this guy anything remotely related to the paranormal or he would  
think her completely insane and hang up immediately. The truth was she didn't even  
know if Mulder was even with her assistant? But her instincts were telling her he  
was, so she had no choice but to resort to some little white lies and hopefully get  
Drummy to listen. " It was a journal he was keeping about an old case file he  
remembered from his past that was never closed, so he wanted to investigate it.  
Now I don't want to bore you with all the details…"

"How very thoughtful of you," Drummy said sarcastically, cutting her off.

"But," she continued, stressing the word, strongly. "It involves this woman who is a  
key suspect and it says he was planning to go over to her place and confront her?  
And I think maybe she might have kidnapped him, or something?" Scully said,  
weakly. This was sounding incredibly lame even to her own ears, but she certainly  
couldn't tell him this woman was possessed by an evil spirit from Japan now, could  
she? 

"You think he's been kidnapped…by a woman?" Drummy asked sounding  
completely astonished.

"Yes, and I also think his life may be in danger," Scully said, impatiently. "So I'm  
going to need a search warrant and someone with fire power. I haven't had a gun in  
my possession since I left the FBI."

"Let me get this straight?" Drummy said trying to wrap his head around what he'd  
just heard. "You want me to get the FBI to give you a warrant so you can check to  
see if Mulder is being held hostage by some female psychopath?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Scully admitted. "But will you please just trust me on  
this?"

"It sounds completely insane Dr Scully," he stated firmly. 

"So you're not going to help me?" 

"I didn't say that." 

"Then what are you saying?" she asked, frustrated.

Mosley Drummy had been drawing up his own conclusions during their  
conversation, and could now determine that Scully was refusing to see the obvious  
truth right in front of her face. 

"Dana?" he said, and couldn't help sniggering a little. "Have you even considered  
the possibility that you might be jumping to these crazy conclusions, because you  
don't want to have to face the fact Mulder could be cheating on you with this  
mysterious woman? I mean that to me sounds far more logical?"

Scully was shocked by his response and wasn't going to believe any of it, even if it  
did sound much more plausible than what she had told him. But he would always  
see her partner in a bad light no matter what the truth was, and he also didn't know  
anything about the Slit-Mouth Woman either. All the paranormal theories about that  
particular entity, as unbelievable as it sounded, was somehow starting to make sense,  
and she knew Mulder was seriously wrapped up in it. But knowing Drummy would  
never remotely accept any of this; she did have one more card up her sleeve.

"I seem to recall you refusing to help me find Mulder once before?" she said,  
completely ignoring what he'd just told her. "Because you didn't believe he was in  
any serious trouble? So you turned your back on him, and if it wasn't for AD  
Skinner and myself he would have died at the hands of a psychotic homosexual  
Russian immigrant who wanted to behead him with a fucking axe!" she yelled,  
feeling the sting of tears welling up in her eyes.

Drummy was taken aback as he was sure he hadn't heard her use this expletive  
before. He also realised the anger in her voice had been mixed with emotion, and  
suddenly began to feel sorry for her. Why should Dana suffer this way, it wasn't  
fair? He had never liked Fox Mulder's arrogant nature and that attitude of his was  
probably the reason why the stupid man almost got himself killed? So maybe he  
should go along with her just so he could make the woman see sense, by proving to  
her once and for all that her partner was a lying, cheating scumbag! Perhaps then  
she would give him the benefit of the doubt?

"All right Dana," he said. "I'll see if I can get you this search warrant…and I will be  
your personal armed bodyguard, just this once."

Scully forced herself to utter a small thank you, before putting down the phone.  
Once again Drummy had managed to piss her off with his sarcastic attitude, but at  
least she had finally got through to him, and now things were starting to go in the  
right direction. All she needed now was to find Mulder and rescue him from yet  
another perilous situation, without a hitch. Question was would she be able to? Or  
would she discover too late that all of her luck had in fact run out?

\----------------------------------------------------

Naomi's Place - E. Franklin St, Richmond, Virginia

He stirred restlessly as images took shape in his mind, fragments forming with such  
clarity; he believed what he was witnessing was actually taking place. Lost in this  
dream world, he was completely unaware of Naomi leaning over him, one hand  
pressed against his temple, eyes staring at him with such intensity that they seemed to  
bore deep down into his very soul while he slept.

Totally oblivious to the fact that the woman was picturing exactly what he was seeing,  
Mulder became aware he was in a cold dark place surrounded by stonewalls, a secret  
vault somewhere underground? His partner Scully was beside him and they were  
browsing through a folder, one of many in fact, that were being kept in rows and rows  
of filing cabinets which seemed to stretch into infinity. The document appeared to be  
full of medical reports and a tissue sample had been attached to it in a little plastic  
container. Feeling a sense of déjà vu, the words Operation Paper Clip came to mind,  
and he now knew where he was? The Strughold Mining Company in West Virginia,  
and this was his sister's file that Scully was holding, containing smallpox vaccination  
records. The scene altered and now they were in a greenhouse talking to Victor  
Klemper, the Nazi scientist who had come to the USA after World War II. He was  
explaining to Mulder how during the cold war his father helped gather genetic data for  
post-apocalyptic identification which was to work on alien-human hybrids. Then in  
the blink of an eye he was back inside the dissused mine, peeling off a label on the  
folder, only to discover to his horror that his own name had been typed out underneath  
Samantha's, revealing that this file had clearly been meant for him. 

Still not aware that he was only dreaming of these past events, Mulder actually  
believed he was experincing each one all over again, including the fear of knowing he  
had originally been the shadow government's sacrificial lamb, who was going to be  
handed over to these extra terrestrial beings. 

Now as the nightmare continued to play out, he was in the family home in Chillmark,  
Massachusetts, a terrified young boy pleading with his father Bill to change his mind.

"Daddy, I'm frightened. Don't make me go with the grey men daddy, please!" he  
yelled.

"One of you has to go," Bill Mulder stated, holding his son close to his chest as tears  
rolled down his cheeks. "Fox, I'm truly sorry. Oh god, I don't want to do this, but I  
have no choice," he admitted, aware he was completely helpless. The consortium had  
painfully agreed to let the aliens take one child from each of their families, with the  
promise that they would be saved from the apocalypse by becoming alien/human  
hybrid creations. But they had absolutely no evidence to prove these beings were  
telling the truth, only their say so, which wasn't exactly comforting.

"Then take her, not me!" Mulder screamed, pulling away from his father's embrace.  
"Please daddy," he begged. "Take Sam!"

He awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, his body shaking violently, to discover  
he was alone, dressed in shirt and pants, barefoot and lying on top of the double bed  
in Naomi's condo. As the nightmare visions began to fade he remembered telling  
Scully, how perhaps a dream may be a question that we haven't yet figured out how  
to ask, and confusion took a hold once more. Allowing that profound statement to  
echo in his mind, made him think that perhaps the last part of the nightmare had been  
another memory, locked so deep inside his subconscious that he had never even been  
aware of it, until now that is. But how could he have said those horrible things? He  
loved his sister Sam and surely wouldn't have wanted any harm to come to her?

Rolling over into a foetal position, arms wrapped around himself and knees tucked  
under his chin, he began to shake his head. " No, dear god, it can't…? It just can't  
be fucking true…it just can't?" he stammered over and over, hot tears now falling  
down his cheeks onto the pillow. As he continued to sob, another memory forced  
itself to be acknowledged. This time it revealed he had been in this bed with the  
Japanese woman, having sex with her? What the fuck? Just why on earth was he  
being bombarded with such images? He knew he could never cheat on the woman he  
loved, never! God, this was becoming even more unbearable. Just what the hell was  
happening to him? 

"Naomi!" he yelled out in anguish. 

A few moments later she entered the room and rushed over to his side. "Mulder, I've  
been waiting for you to wake up. Are you all right?" she asked concerned, noticing  
the state he was in.

"No, I'm not all right," he replied miserably, wiping the tears from evidence. "I'm  
very far from all right."

Not even aware that lies were now pouring out of her mouth, she explained to him  
that having shown him around her place, he'd then asked her to direct him to the  
bathroom. Then realising time had passed and he still hadn't returned, how she'd  
gone looking for him only to discover he had collapsed at the top of the stairs, so  
she'd somehow managed to drag him along the landing and into the bedroom. 

"I've no idea what could have caused you to pass out like that?" she said, a troubled  
look on her face. "But I checked your pulse and everything seemed to be fine? So I  
decided it was best to just let you lie here until you came round." Feeling annoyed  
with herself she added, "I should have stayed with you. I'm sorry, did you have a bad  
dream?"

A bad dream, now that was an understatement of the century. "Several in fact," he  
stammered. Unable to describe the explicit details of the erotic one he'd found  
himself in, Mulder just said, "One involved you and me…together…in this bed." He  
looked right at her, trying to read anything from her reaction, that may suggest this  
act, as appalling as it seemed, had actually taken place? Just like the other dreams had  
been lost memories, one of which was far too terrible to contemplate right now, it had  
been far too real to dismiss the possibility that this event had also been one?

"Oh?" she exclaimed with a nervous giggle, rather embarrassed by what he'd just  
said. "I'm flattered, really, that you could have those kinds of feelings for me?" She  
couldn't admit to the fact, that should he ever actually pluck up the courage to ask  
her; she wouldn't hesitate to sleep with him. Of course in reality, she had completely  
lost herself in Mulder, but remained ignorant of the fact. This was because the spirit  
of Kuchisake was refusing to allow the memories of what had actually taken place the  
night before, to enter her mind. Those hours spent in wild abandoned passion had  
been for her pleasure only, not the vessel she had chosen to inhabit.

Mulder didn't return the smile, feeling uncomfortable that she had taken his words the  
wrong way. "I…?" he began, unsure as to how he should approach this without  
upsetting her. "I do like you Naomi…but not like that." Noticing her crestfallen  
look, he continued, "I'm sorry, but I love Scully…and so could never be with you in  
that way," he apologised.

"Then why tell me you had a dream like that?" she asked, confused and hurt that he  
could let his imagination conjure up such things, then refuse to admit he had any  
passion for her whatsoever? It just didn't make any sense?

"I don't know why?" he admitted, wishing he hadn't said anything now. "The others  
were memories from my past. I just thought…?"

"That we made love in my bed? I think I'd have remembered something like that?"  
she said, believing that if they had actually spent the night together, it wasn't  
something she was likely to overlook.

"I'm sorry, just forget it," he told her, tears evident in his eyes. "It's completely  
ridiculous."

Alarmed by the obvious distress he was in, Naomi knelt down on the floor so she was  
level with him and reached over, gathering his trembling body into her arms, allowing  
him to rest his head on her shoulder. "Tell me about the memories that came to you?"  
she said softly, rocking him gently. Maybe once he got those out into the open, she  
could help him to understand why they had been present in his dreams?

Her warmth and tenderness was beginning to calm him a little, so taking a deep  
breath, Mulder began to explain everything he could remember about what he had  
discovered, about the X Files, the government conspiracies, the aliens plans for  
colonisation and the hybrid programme. Unable to stop, he then found himself  
blurting out about how he had been responsible for his sister's abduction all along.  
Speaking this out loud to someone made it all the more substantial now, no matter  
how much he still wanted to deny it. Feeling so overwhelmed by his terrible  
confession he began to cry again, this time holding onto Naomi for support.

"Shhh, it's okay Mulder," her voice soothed gently, however her expression revealed  
a completely different guise. "Maybe that's why you became so obsessed with  
finding her, because you harboured this painful secret?"

Delighted to hear him let out a ragged gasp in response to her, Kuchisake continued  
with her explanations, in a comforting tone. "At least you know now why you were  
driven to search for your sister, so much so that nothing else mattered? It was  
because of all that hidden guilt buried deep inside your subconscious, that you had  
refused to accept was there."

Suddenly, Mulder understood everything now, and began to weep whole-heartedly.  
"Oh g…god!" he cried, choking on his sobs. "I…I told him to t…take her.  
I…d…didn't w…want to go. I…I was so s…scared at the t…time."

"It's all right, let it all out," she said, stroking his hair, whilst at the same time  
loving every moment of his grief.

"S…Sam? Oh g…god, c…can you ever f…forgive m…me?" he cried, breaking  
down in Naomi's arms.

"Of course she will," she said, continuing to rock him gently, while Kuchisake's smile  
remained very much in evidence. 

At some point in time his sobbing had finally ceased although he wasn't sure exactly  
when that had occurred? Pulling himself gently out of Naomi's arms, he looked up at  
her with eyes now red from crying. "Thank you," he murmured. "For being here?"  
Then his partner came to mind and in a slight panic he added, "I can't ever tell Scully  
any of this, she wouldn't understand. He paused, closing his eyes briefly. "And who  
could blame her?" he added, sadly.

"That's okay" Naomi replied softly. Even though the experience had been rather  
traumatic, she couldn't help appreciating that he had chosen to open up to her with  
such devastating news.

"I mean thank you for listening," he said, solemnly. "If I'd had to lock it all away and  
carry on, knowing what I know to be the truth now? It would have probably driven  
me insane."

"Glad I could be of help," she smiled.

The kiss that followed was completely unexpected, and he couldn't even be sure who  
had instigated it first? But the taste of her was so sweet, like orange blossoms and for  
a moment he let it continue. Then suddenly he pulled away, ashamed that he had  
acted in such a way.

"I'm sorry Naomi," he apologised. "I can't do this. Even though I told you that  
painful secret, and not her? I'm still very much in love with Scully, and she is the  
only woman I want to share the rest of my life with." As he spoke those words, the  
tears welled up, because he knew god forbid, if she ever did find out what he had  
done, she would probably leave him in an instant.

"I understand," she replied, but continued gazing into his eyes.

At first this made him feel rather uncomfortable, then it was almost like a switch had  
been flicked inside as the puppet master returned for another performance. Grabbing  
her by the hair, he lunged forward kissing her passionately, his tongue exploring  
every inch of her mouth. With arms locked around her tightly in his vice-like grip, he  
yanked her up onto the bed, rolling her over so that she was now beneath him. 

"Yukio," Kuchisake gasped, realising they were his eyes that were now burning  
deeply into hers. "Make love to me!"

Mulder obeyed, unable to resist the spell he was under. And the dance of infatuation  
between the two former lovers began again, with Naomi and himself being forced to  
play their roles. 

When it was finally over, she lay curled up beside him under the bed covers, watching  
him sleep. Gazing at Mulder's slender neck, she reached up to touch the fluttering  
pulse, feeling the warmth of his skin as she did so. She shuddered excitedly  
wondering just how wonderful it would be to watch his life force slowly ebb away?  
To observe every beautifully gruesome moment while his blood soaked into Naomi's  
silken sheets? 'Oh yes', Kuchisake thought eagerly. Now she was more than ready  
for the next part of her little game plan. Raising herself up on one elbow, she reached  
under the pillow and retrieved the item she had left there.

"Oh Yukio," she breathed, softly, gently running one finger down the serrated edge of  
the kitchen knife, being careful not to cut herself on its sharp blade. "Much as I have  
enjoyed our precious moments together…?" She paused, then leaning over Mulder's  
sleeping form, placed the knife against his throat whilst whispering into his ear, her  
voice now dripping with venom, "But alas my beloved, I feel it's time to bring this  
part of our story to an end…don't you?"

\--------------------------------------------

The sleek black SUV pulled up outside of Naomi's building on the corner of 25th and  
Franklin. For the duration of the journey Dana Scully had been seated on the  
passenger side next to agent Mosley Drummy. She had ridden in one of these  
vehicles once before, throughout that last investigation for the FBI and still couldn't  
help but be impressed with how spacious the vehicle was allowing for plenty of  
legroom, also it's rather luxurious and comfortable seating. A far cry from the Ford  
Taurus she and Mulder had found themselves lumbered with on most of their  
assignments working those eight years on the X Files. Although after their unfair  
dismissal from the FBI, both she and her partner had acquired the same make of car,  
as he'd always thought them practical explaining to her that quality didn't matter.  
However he had ended up crashing hers into an icy ravine on that last case, only to be  
fair it hadn't been his fault because it had been that same psychotic Russian who had  
tried to kill him once before, by forcing the car over the edge of a cliff with a  
snowplough! Even though the vehicle was completely written-off, thankfully Mulder  
hadn't been seriously injured. But this meant she had required a new set of wheels to  
get her to and fro from the hospital, so on that occasion had treated herself to a white  
Porsche with her doctor's wages. She had to admit to herself that unlike Mulder, she  
did appreciate style, as well as comfort.

Dana knew she was only going by her gut feelings, and normally only dealt with  
factual evidence before making a decision. But after having retrieved Naomi's  
address from her work colleague and friend Mark Holmes, her main objective was  
getting Mulder back safe and sound; no matter what shape or form it took.

Climbing out of the vehicle, both stared at the eye-catching condominium right in  
front of them.

"That sure is one hell of a place to live!" Drummy gasped in amazement.  
"Somewhere real cosy to put one's feet up, unlike a run down rural shack wouldn't  
you say?"

Realising just what he was insinuating, Scully glared at him then headed over to the  
main entrance. Finding the correct number on the intercom, she pressed the buzzer,  
and waited impatiently. After receiving no reply she tried again, allowing the bell to  
ring for a little longer this time.

"C'mon Dana, looks like nobody's home," Drummy stated. "Either that, or they  
don't wish to be disturbed?" he added, and couldn't help smirking.

"Oh give it a rest will you?" she said, in annoyance. But the fact of the matter was  
she wasn't going to get inside the easy way, so begrudgingly walked back over to the  
Expedition. She was just about to climb in alongside Drummy who had already  
started up the vehicle, eager to leave. When she spied a young man, keys in hand  
approaching the main door of the building. Without any hesitation she darted out of  
the car and made a beeline straight for him.

He watched her through the windscreen, talking to this stranger for a minute or two,  
then realised she was madly beckoning him to come over, her eyes indicating she  
needed his assistance a.s.a.p. Letting out an exasperated growl, Drummy switched off  
the engine and reluctantly went over to them, with a clear understanding that he  
wasn't going to be able to make the quick getaway he had hoped.

"This is Special Agent Mosley Drummy of the FBI," she told the man, whose name  
she hadn't even asked for. After indicating to the burly African American man beside  
her that he show his badge as proof of his identity, she carried on with her plan of  
action. "I'm Dr Dana Scully, and we are working on an extremely important case.  
We require access to this building immediately, as it's a matter of urgency." 

"Oh, um, Kevin Hale," the young man replied, shaking their hands, rather excited to  
be faced with a federal agent on a case. "No problem," he added, opening the door to  
allow them access. "So, are you investigating a murder or something?" he said, keen  
to find out more information.

"Something," Drummy said, forcing his air of authority. Just however this outlandish  
outcome was going to turn out, he really wasn't in the mood to have some enthusiastic  
crime fan sticking his nose in.

Scully stepped in noticing how even darker clouds were forming over the agent.  
"Thank you for your help Mr. Hale," she said hurriedly. "We'll take it from here."

"Glad to be of help," Kevin replied exiting towards the stairwell hoping that when this  
felony was reported on the local news, he would get his name mentioned, or maybe  
printed in the Richmond Times Dispatch?

"How very take charge we are Dana," Drummy said astounded, once they were alone  
in the elevator. Though he had to own up to himself that he had been rather  
impressed as well as amused by her sheer determination to get into the place, so much  
so that she would resort to lying about working alongside the FBI on a case. It almost  
seemed a shame he was going to have to fess up about the authorisation he was unable  
to get from the bureau, although personally he hadn't been expecting their  
cooperation any way.

Stepping out onto the landing, they were met with a cool breeze from an electric fan,  
which hung from a rather beautiful pinewood ceiling. Whilst Drummy was admiring  
the view, Scully had much more important things on her mind. Crossing over to a  
door at the far end, she checked the number, indicating to her phoney co-worker that  
she had found the right place. Now all they needed to do was get inside, which  
shouldn't be a problem.

"So, where is it?" she asked him, impatiently.

Drummy knew what she was referring to and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry  
Dana, but I couldn't actually get a search warrant."

"What do you mean you couldn't get it?" she said, stunned.

Probably best to tell her the truth, he thought. "They just figured it would be a  
complete waste of the bureau's valuable time and resources." Noticing her eyes were  
now glowering at him, he continued cautiously. "So I wasn't assigned to this, but  
decided to accompany you anyway."

"Why, so you could gloat?" Dana asked, angry and hurt by his revelation.

What he wanted to say was, no it's because I want you to see Mulder in his true  
colours, as a two-faced, deceitful bastard. But what came out was a grumpy cover  
story that hid his true feelings. "I just decided to give you a helping hand, isn't that  
what you wanted?"

"Okay, well then I need you and your helping hands to pick this lock!" she ordered  
him, abruptly.

Drummy looked at her dumbfounded. "Didn't you hear me? I just said I couldn't get  
a warrant. So I'm not going to pick the damn lock, because then we will be  
committing a crime of breaking and entering."

"Look Drummy? I need to get into this place and if you won't pick the lock then I'll  
just have to kick the fucking door down!" she said, harshly, trying not to raise her  
voice too much as she didn't want a certain female occupant to hear her.

"All right," he said, taken aback by her outburst. "But you're taking the wrap if we  
end up with criminal charges."

"Fine, I'll take my damn chances," she said, trying to compose her self. "Please just  
open the door."

Drummy explained that he hadn't brought his lock-picking equipment, but before she  
could flare up again, he hastily took his wallet out of an inside pocket of his jacket  
and produced a credit card.

Once inside Naomi's condo, he thought he'd better follow Scully's instructions and  
hopefully that would cease any more tantrums? So agreeing to check upstairs while  
she inspected the downstairs, without another word he set off down a dim lit hallway.  
After a short while he discovered a metal spiral staircase, which at first scrutiny  
seemed to lead into complete darkness, and started to climb.

Meanwhile, Scully wandered slowly through the rooms paying no attention to the  
absolute splendour of each one, which if she had wanted to, she could still have  
taken in even though they were unlit. Following a curved wall around the end of  
a hall this led her to what was obviously the lounge area. It was then she spotted  
an oval shape glinting across the room, and on closer inspection became aware that  
it was a beautiful guilt-edged mirror on the wall above a fireplace. Her heart  
almost jumped out of her throat, because now her suspicions were confirmed. As  
crazy as it sounded, and knowing it was something that certainly would never hold  
up in a court of law, she now believed that this was how the spirit of Kuchisake  
found Naomi, and used her as a host so she could kill reincarnations of her husband.  
With both hands she carefully removed the mirror from its hook. Feeling the bumps,  
curves and ridges of its metal frame, she realised they were in fact several  
beautifully carved dragons, with eyes made from blood red rubies. Turning it around,  
she straightaway noticed a mark guaranteeing the authenticity of the mirror, which  
dated it back as far as 14th century Japan. Dana was completely amazed that this was  
an original and not a replica, because a fragile item such as this would surely have  
been destroyed long ago? Was it possible The Slit Mouth Woman, Kuchisake Onna, had  
been its owner and when she was murdered in front of it, it somehow trapped her spirit  
and protected it from being shattered? Replacing the mirror back on the wall, she  
caught sight of her shadowy reflection. At first the Wicked Queen's well-known chant  
from the fairytale came to mind. 'Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of  
them all?' But then she started recollecting on what she had read on Mulder's  
computer, and began piecing together yet more unbelievable concepts. 

Maybe because the spirit could travel in many reflections, it had sought out other  
Asian beauties in their mirrors over the centuries, murdering those who chanted  
"Bloody Mary" in front of them? Perhaps Naomi's younger sister had played the  
same morbid game in her parents' bathroom? Allowing a faint smile to appear for a  
brief moment, she couldn't help thinking that to anyone else this would all have  
sounded completely loony tunes, but oh, Mulder would have been so proud of her.  
However if these incredible interpretations were true, then he was definitely in a  
world of trouble. Right then and there she hoped and prayed that when Drummy  
returned, it wouldn't be with terrible news?

Agent Drummy crept down the stairs looking for Dana only to discover she was in the  
lounge staring at her image in a large mirror. The look on his face was one of  
complete self-satisfaction, and he was just itching to tell her what he'd found upstairs,  
in the bedroom as a matter of fact. Without making a sound he crept up behind  
placing a hand on her shoulder.

The unexpected touch made Scully almost jump out of her skin. However all  
thoughts of a Japanese spirit about to attack were quelled when she recognised his  
own reflection in the mirror. Whirling round to face him she screamed, "Jeeze,  
Drummy! You scared the living daylights out of me!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to," he apologised, grinning.

A wave of relief began to wash over her because on first impression it looked like he  
was harbouring good news? But then she realised he was looking terribly pleased  
with himself, like the cat who had just devoured a whole pot of cream.

"What?" she asked, frowning? 

"Oh Dana?" he began, displaying another grin. "I hate to say I told you so, but…?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she questioned, getting annoyed by his smug  
attitude. "What did you find up there?"

"Well first I had to find the bathroom…"

"Of course, your bladder's way more important than finding my partner alive and  
well," she said, cutting him off sharply.

Ignoring her remark he continued what he had to tell her. "So I checked the rooms,  
which were a study/den and then came across the bedroom." And now for the piece  
de resistance, he thought. "It was fairly dark in there but I did notice two people in the  
bed. I presume it was that Japanese assistant of yours and she was snuggled up with a  
guy. Before she could utter any kind of reply he added with a smirk, "Your beloved  
Fox Mulder I believe? I must say he didn't look to be in any distress, all comfy and  
cosy, wrapped up in her arms under the sheets like that."

On hearing his words, Scully just stood rooted to the spot open-mouthed staring in  
disbelief. "You're lying!" she hissed.

"Haven't I've been trying to tell you all along he's been screwing the chick, and who  
wouldn't with such a beautiful Japanese woman? Realising Scully was now backing  
away from him, shaking her head furiously he added, "So, as I predicted this has  
been a complete waste of my valuable time, and I should have listened to the FBI's  
advice not to get involved in the first place? But, I came with you because I wanted  
you to finally see your boyfriend for who he really is, an untrustworthy, dishonest  
prick!" he announced, proudly, expecting the penny to finally drop.

"You bastard!" she exclaimed, outraged and also wounded by the way he'd seemed so  
completely full of him self, whilst revealing such cruel observations to her. "You  
don't know anything about Mulder at all!" she yelled.

"I know what I saw Dana," he said, frustrated that she was still refusing to accept the  
reality of the situation. "Go see for yourself if you don't believe me?"

He needn't have suggested that last part, as she was already on her way out of the  
room. "Fine, I will," she retorted back at him.

Watching her leave, Drummy started to regret his foolishness a little, because now  
this woman was going to have to face the truth and he also knew it was going to  
completely devastate her. Still, she had been so incredibly stubborn and annoyed with  
him for not following her ridiculous idea that a mad psychotic woman was holding  
Mulder captive. So why not let her be forced to take of those rose coloured glasses  
she always wore when it came to him? Once realisation had kicked in he would be  
gracious enough to provide her with a shoulder to cry on, if should she need it?

Reeling from Drummy's obvious triumphant victory, little by little she began  
climbing the staircase, her mind running a mile a minute. She knew Mulder would  
never cheat on her, so why had Drummy discovered him in Naomi's bed, with her?  
He hadn't been lying about that, why should he make up such a cruel story? But there  
had to be another explanation, and the more she thought about it, she found herself  
leaning towards the paranormal once again. Maybe the spirit inhabiting her  
assistant's body was somehow able to control her partner, making him submit to her  
sexually? Perhaps she wanted to make him think he was her samurai warrior who  
killed her? Just then a memory came to mind of a young lady named Melissa, who  
Mulder believed had had the ability to slip in and out of past lives. Apparently he also  
discovered he had been a husband of hers in the Civil War, who had died on the  
battlefield, and they were soul mates destined to meet in every lifetime that followed.  
Scully shuddered because even contemplating him having to live such an eternal  
destiny with Kuchisake made her feel sick to her stomach. But my god, she thought,  
anxiety creeping in and holding fast. What if, just like Melissa could return to her  
former selves, Kuchisake had forced Mulder to relive his as Yukio, before she ended  
the man's life? 

Reaching the door she noticed Drummy had left it ajar, so not wishing to witness the  
lovers curled up blissfully, but desperate to rescue her partner from an untimely end,  
she timidly pushed it open. To her complete astonishment yet relief she discovered  
there was only one figure lying in the bed, and that was Mulder. But Drummy had  
said Naomi was with him, so where the hell had she gone? It was almost like she had  
vanished into thin air.

Crossing over, she leaned down gently brushing a lock of hair that had fallen across  
Mulder's face. Whilst gazing at him she started to picture one of Botticelli's divine  
paintings, as he did indeed look like so cherubic as he slept. Feeling the sting of tears  
as they started to well up in her eyes, she whispered his name softly.

"Mulder?"

Emitting a small sigh, he started to stir, so she tried again, "Mulder wake up, it's me."

Very slowly he became aware of a familiar sound, which seemed to pierce through  
the dark dreams he was surrounded in allowing a tiny crack of illumination to shine  
through, and lead him back to reality. Letting his eyes flutter open he recognised his  
guide almost at once.

"Scully?" he said, sleepily. "You've come?"

"Yes Mulder, I'm here," she replied, quietly.

Now starting to comprehend exactly where he was, a sudden bout of apprehension  
struck him hard. He was lying in Naomi's double bed, he realised to his absolute  
dismay, completely naked under the sheets. In that instant he found himself  
automatically reverting back to the nightmares he'd suffered before the woman had  
woken him to explain that she'd found him passed out on the landing. Then he  
remembered the seduction scene that had played out in his psyche. 'Jesus, it had  
actually happened to him,' he thought, recoiling in disgust, 'and now it looked like  
this erotic tableau had taken place all over again?'

As if to confirm his fears, Scully began to calmly explain what Drummy had told her.  
"H…He found you with Naomi…lying here together," she said, her voice almost  
inaudible.

Feeling like he'd been punched in the gut, Mulder gasped aloud. "God I'm sorry.  
Scully, I'm so very sorry," he said miserably, moisture glistening in his eyes.

"So, you…you did sleep with her?" she asked him, knowing the answer already.

As he felt the damn begin to break, the tears slowly started to course down his cheeks.  
Feeling completely distraught he forced himself to reply, but could only manage a  
slightly pathetic nod of the head. How on earth was a rational person like Scully ever  
going to accept that something else had obviously taken charge and controlled him  
like a pawn in a chess game, and as a result he and Naomi had ended up having sexual  
intercourse? But this had to have been the case or at least something along those  
lines? Because one thing he did understand clearly was that he could never betray  
the woman who had finally broken through that emotional shell of his, and had shown  
him how to truly love unconditionally once again? Not while there was an ounce of  
breath still left in him. Sure, she had allowed herself to become more open minded  
about the paranormal, but this would test her beliefs to the very limit. Now terribly  
upset, he had already come to the painful conclusion and he shuddered, knowing she  
wasn't going to accept this excuse and as a result, walk out of his life forever, and he  
just couldn't bear the thought of that happening! 

Scully gathered him into her arms, rocking him gently as she spoke. "Shhh, Mulder.  
It's okay, don't cry." She paused briefly, at first unable to let the words continue, as  
her logical way of thinking tried desperately to advise her that what she was about to  
tell him was completely irrational? But pushing it to the back of her mind, she  
thought, 'Oh, to hell with commonsense!' and then the nonsensical stuff started to  
pour out. Regarding how she had accessed his computer and found information about  
The Slit-Mouth Woman, and how she had actually ended up believing her assistant  
was possessed by her after the spirit left the mirror and took over Naomi's soul, with  
the intention of finding yet another reincarnation of the husband who murdered her,  
and planning her revenge on him. 

All the while Mulder's tear stained eyes widened in amazement as he listened to her  
describe this supernatural myth. Realising he had in fact forgotten all about that  
particular legend he'd kept in a separate file, maybe because he'd been concentrating  
so heavily on the 'Bloody Mary' folklore? He couldn't quite believe Scully was  
explaining it all to him, and making it sound completely plausible.

Collecting himself and feeling far less miserable now, he had to ask her the question  
burning on his lips. "Are you telling me you actually believe all this Scully?" he  
asked, interrupting her flow for a moment. 

Gently, pushing him down so his head was resting on the bed head she looked straight  
at him and smiled. "Yeah, in this case I can honestly say that I am just as capable of  
being as nuts as you are."

The tender jibe caused him to grin back at her, and then he remembered the part about  
the spirit's or Kuchisake's husband, and frowned. "I remember Naomi calling me the  
name Yukio, after she had drugged me."

"Yeah, that's him," Scully sighed heavily. "You are one of those reincarnations."

"And her plan was to seduce me/him before she carried out the execution?" he asked,  
letting it sink in.

"I believe so? I think she would have slit your throat, as she must have done with all  
those pretty Asian women she was so jealous of. Travelling through mirrors and  
other reflections so she could carry out her task…"

He ended her sentence, "When they summoned her with the 'Bloody Mary' ritual?  
Yes, I remember now, she was related to that myth. Mulder started to become  
exasperated with himself. "Why couldn't I recall any of this?"

"Maybe because Kuchisake clouded your mind?" she suggested. "Oh hell, if I'd have  
let you explain all about this damn myth to me in the first place, I could have put two  
and two together and realised Naomi was the vessel. Then I might have reached you  
earlier and prevented her, Kuchisake from making you both end up in her twisted  
little sex games?" she blurted out, angrily.

Mulder felt a lump in his throat and swallowed hard, closing his eyes briefly.  
"Scully…?" he started to say, but couldn't finish. Even though he hadn't been able to  
prevent it, he still couldn't help feeling guilty that he'd slept with Naomi.

Pulling him into her embrace, she let him rest his head on her shoulder and began to  
stroke his hair tenderly. "Oh Mulder, I don't blame you for that. It was the Slit-  
Mouth Woman's doing, not yours…or Naomi's."

Gently raising his head up, he leaned in and kissed her tenderly, so grateful that she  
understood. "I love you, Scully. I always will," he whispered, letting the tears well  
up again.

Scully was feeling emotional as well, and touched his lips with her fingertips. "I love  
you too, Mulder. And nothing in this world, or beyond it, is ever going to change  
that, my love," she said, wrapping her arms around him again, and holding him  
tightly.

Content to be with the woman he cherished above all else, he was reluctant to bring  
up another question that had entered his mind. Only it was perplexing him and  
needed to be asked. "Scully, if Kuchisake's main purpose for roaming this plain is to  
kill reincarnations of her husband. Then why am I not dead? And where has Naomi  
gone?"

Scully glanced over to the window, then realised how she had managed to flee.  
"There's a fire escape out there," she told him. "She must have used that to achieve  
her disappearing act."

"Okay," Mulder agreed. "But she was possessed with Kuchisake when we had to act  
out Yukio and her love scene. So why didn't she kill me when it was over? What  
was she waiting for?" he asked, bewildered.

"I don't know?" Scully admitted.

Looking into his eyes, she realised Mulder had no suggestion for this either. Did this  
mean the nightmare wasn't over? Refusing to question it any further she said,  
"Would you believe Agent Mosley Drummy assisted me in finding you, reluctantly I  
might add? He needed a hell of a lot of persuading on my part. He's downstairs  
awaiting our return as we speak," she said, sarcastically. 

Mulder stared at her incredulously on hearing this. "Drummy was assigned to help  
look for me?"

"Not exactly. The bureau didn't want any part of it."

"Naturally," he said, forcing a smile. "Just like old times. So why did he even come  
along?"

"I believe he wanted to prove to me you weren't to be trusted?" Scully replied, curtly.

"You mean relish over the fact I'd been unfaithful to you?" Mulder asked, quietly.

"Exactly," she replied. "But the bastard can go on thinking whatever he damn well  
likes…because I know the truth now," she said, giving him a warm smile.

"That's my girl," Mulder replied, delighted that she had finally been able to see the  
paranormal was the reason why this whole nasty affair had occurred. He immediately  
cringed inside when he realised the unintended pun and added, "Well I guess I'm  
ready to face the music."

\-------------------------------------------------

Later that night, the sky had grown ominous as a rumble of thunder howled like an  
injured beast, followed by flashes of lightening that seemed to slice open the dark  
clouds, as the torrential rain gushed forth like blood pouring from it's wounds.  
Outside the condominium, now an eerie silhouette that masked the building's  
attractive appearance, a yellow taxi pulled up, and a small figure alighted. Running  
across to the main entrance, trying to escape the downpour, Naomi fumbled with her  
key but it kept slipping out of her trembling hands. Finally she managed to open the  
door and entered the lobby, that even though now a welcoming contrast to outside  
with its warm and inviting glow, she chose to ignore. Climbing the stairwell,  
rainwater dripping from her hair, a parallel to the tears that were beginning to trickle  
down her face, the realisations of what had taken place in these last several days were  
now prominent in her mind. The blanket of mist that had enveloped her, concealing  
her actions, which made her unable to acknowledge what she had been made to do,  
had been lifted. 

Apart from growing fond of Fox Mulder, she had strongly believed he was her soul  
mate, and it was this connection that had been able to break the spell that had been  
cast over her, just enough to stop herself from harming him. Finding herself beside  
him in her bed, only seconds away from slitting his throat with her kitchen knife,  
Naomi had suddenly felt physically sick and in complete shock when she realised she  
had almost committed a horrific murder. She had been unable to comprehend just  
why she had discovered herself in this terrible situation, and her mind had been a  
blank after that. The only thing she did remember was rushing to get dressed and  
leaving the room via the fire escape outside of the window. But after reeling from  
that major discovery more of her own memories had begun to seep through, as the  
spirit of Kuchisake temporarily lost the ability to control her. Now she knew the  
reason why she had almost taken Mulder's life? It had been the spirit's lust for  
revenge on her husband's soul, who after possessing her own, had used her like a  
puppet, in order to try and make her carry out her murderous intentions.

As she stepped into the condo and made her way to the main lounge, Naomi was also  
made aware of those moments when she and Mulder had been bound together in an  
act of passion, and became unsteady as a wave of revulsion washed over her. She  
really liked Mulder, and in another life would have happily enjoyed making love with  
someone as kind as him, but certainly not in the perverse way Kuchisake had.  
Disturbed by the fact this spirit had abused them both in such a way; she staggered  
over to the mirror, which was now casting a translucent glow in the darkened room.

"Show yourself!" she screamed, eyes burning into her own reflection. "Come on, let  
me see the thing that's been hiding in me? Forcing me to bend to its will, so I almost  
killed someone I cared about." 

As if to taunt her, the mirror remained unchanged and only her image stared back at  
her. Wild eyed with streaks of make-up running down her face due to the tears that  
had fallen, hair now uncombed and bedraggled, she looked like a madwoman.

"Show yourself you bitch!"

Slowly the reflection began to shimmer and the next moment, Kuchisake appeared in  
all her horrific glory. Her mutilated mouth would have been sneering in contempt at  
the woman, who had the audacity to summon her, if it had been possible to do so?

"He may have escaped me…for now, but think of all the other's I have had the  
pleasure of knowing?" 

Remembering the information about the legend Mulder had shown her, Naomi  
shivered as it now all began to become clear. "Bloody Mary? It was you?"

"Oh please say it three times," Kuchisake teased, menacingly.

Naomi heard the cruel words penetrating her mind, and shuddered in horror. Because  
now she knew some of her victims had been close to her heart. "Why? So you can  
murder me, like you murdered my fiancé and sister, and all those other people?"

"Now he was delicious and you did such a wonderful job Naomi, helping me to slice  
his throat like a stuck pig." Before the woman could utter any kind of a reply the  
spirit added, "Your sweet sister was yet another female who dared to call me forth,  
just like all those others I encountered on my travels. After my husband intervened  
and I became trapped in my mirror, it was a blessing to discover I could move into  
any reflection, as it allowed me to meet so many lovely young women, who were  
blessed with the beauty I once had, before Yukio destroyed my looks. Just one swift  
cut with his sword was all it took. But I guess he didn't feel his handiwork was  
complete until he had beheaded me as well?"

Closing her eyes, allowing the torrent of pain to engulf her in its wake, she faced the  
hideous image again. "And you possessed me because you needed to be in corporeal  
form, to carry out the death sentence of another reincarnation?" Naomi asked, her  
voice trembling.

"Let me finish telling you my tale, Naomi," the spirit began, in a singsong voice.

It was similar to the way her mother had sounded before reading her a bedtime story  
as she had every night when she'd been a child, and it made the woman cringe.

"Once-upon-a-time, there was an innocent woman like yourself, only she fell in love  
with a jealous and possessive man, who wanted to own her completely. So he took  
her whenever he desired to satisfy his insatiable lust. She was terrified yet consumed  
by his power over her, and so submitted her heart and soul to him completely. Then  
one day a handsome prince came to rescue this pitiful maiden from the evil warrior.  
Their plan was to run away together? But on one fateful day the husband discovered  
the lovers' plight and in his jealous rage, murdered her in front of her mirror - this  
very mirror in fact. Alas in this fairytale no one lived happily ever after. So, now you  
can see why I decided to seek revenge for my brutal murder, by killing reincarnations  
of my beloved Yukio."

Another memory of their passionate encounter became clear, and then it struck her,  
like a slap in the face. Mulder had been the one who had instigated every move, not  
her; only the act had been forceful and violent. Certainly not the way she believed he  
would ever act towards a woman? Naomi thought she had an explanation, but was  
terrified to think it might be right. That throughout the centuries Kuchisake must not  
only have regressed men who were reincarnations of her husband, making them  
believe they were reliving their past as him all over again, but also Yukio's soul itself  
was able to possess the man like Kuchisake possessed her? 

"That's why Mulder seduced me?" Naomi said, appalled. "You may have been afraid  
of Yukio? But you also brought him forth because you both craved each other's  
twisted love! Then made innocent men like Mulder act out his past life as your  
possessive husband?" she said, bitterly. 

Laughter rang out loud and clear, almost deafening. "Innocent?" My dear Naomi,  
none of these men are blameless, no matter how honest and gentle they seem to be?  
They were all Yukio once, and he was far from innocent."

"But then why did you have me kill my fiancé? He wasn't any reincarnation, so why  
did you force me to murder him?" Naomi demanded to know, tears evident once  
more. 

"Why you are my favourite Naomi," the spirit said, as if she was praising a daughter  
of her own. "No one else was going to claim your love like I do, certainly not some  
mere man. So I played out my little death scene with you and him, and it was  
exquisite.

"So because love destroyed you, then you want to destroy anyone else's chance for  
happiness?" she replied, sickened by what she'd just heard.

"He made me this way," Kuchisake stressed, beginning to get irritated.

"But clearly you blame all men, and not just Yukio?" she pointed out, realising the  
hatred was so powerful in this spirit, that she was actually seeking revenge on the  
male species as a whole.

"You don't understand?" the spirit told her, angrily.

"Oh I think I do," Naomi replied, harshly, recalling another gem of information from  
the "Bloody Mary" myths that Mulder had shown her.

How spirits were like wounded animals lost and in pain, living the same tragedies, the  
same vengeances. Something happened to them when they were alive that they  
couldn't control and after their lives were brought to a horrific end they became  
vengeful spirits. Trapped in an endless loop forever carrying out their unfinished  
business. Realising that in this case it would be everlasting revenge, she decided she  
was going to have to make Kuchisake recognise the sheer pointlessness of it all. But  
first would approach her by trying to see her point of view, at least partly.

"After your tale of woe, I admit I sympathised with that innocent woman whose  
husband murdered in a fit of jealousy," she said, aware of the cruelty she had suffered  
at his hands.

Kuchisake was completely taken aback by Naomi's words of understanding. "You  
are the only mortal who has said this to me," she said, almost on the verge of thanking  
her.

Unfortunately though, this compassion was as far as the woman was going to allow  
herself to feel. "However when you became this vengeful spirit because of the sheer  
hatred you took with you on the moment of your death? Then those people you chose  
started suffering the consequences. Men, who had the misfortune of being a  
reincarnation of your husband, or those that just got in your way, and women, because  
they were blessed with the same beauty that you once had? But don't you see? You  
will carry on till eternity, continuously roaming through future centuries and an  
infinite number of innocent people will die by your hands?"

"I believe it was your tender hands that ended one of these lives?" she corrected her in  
a mocking tone.

Naomi took a deep breath, trying hard not to let the fury escape that was building up  
inside. She had hoped she was getting through to her? But the sad fact was  
Kuchisake was going to remain obstinate, and refuse to look beyond her narrowed  
vision. However, she was going to try one last time before she would let herself  
admit defeat.

"You will never find peace, not this way," she said, praying it would make her listen  
to reason.

In answer the reflection's eyes narrowed in disgust, although the grotesque mouth  
could not display the same emotion "You tried your best Naomi, I'll grant you that,"  
Kuchisake said, evenly. "However I'm going to require your assistance once more, as  
I believe there is a certain man out there who thinks he has escaped my wrath? Only  
he is very much mistaken, and I intend to make him realise this."

Feeling a heavy pressure starting to build up inside her head, Naomi realised to her  
horror that the spirit was doing its dammed ness to take possession of her body. Once  
that happened and she found herself completely at its mercy again, it would be her  
hands that would be responsible for ending this man's life. "No!" she screamed,  
fighting for control.

"Stupid girl," Kuchisake said with disdain. "You can't stop me?"

"Well I did before," she reminded her, continuing to struggle against the powerful  
force that was trying to penetrate her very soul. Clasping her hands to her head she  
yelled, "And I'll do it again!"

"Will you now?" The spirit was enjoying watching the woman writhe around in her  
attempt to prevent it from taking her over. But she was getting weaker and weaker  
and would very soon become her willing accomplice.

Naomi could feel it trying to overpower her, but was dammed if she was going to be  
defeated. There had been a time she'd managed to become lucid, when she had  
almost killed him once before, and it seemed her deep feelings for him had prevented  
this from happening? 

"No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. " You are not signing Mulder's death  
warrant…I won't let you!"

With her last ounce of strength, she lunged at the mirror. "I love him!" she yelled.  
Pulling it off its hook, she stared one last time at Kuchisake's hideous face. "Let me  
release your tortured and twisted soul once and for all," she cried out, hurling it onto  
the wooden floor. 

After surviving for thousands of years, Naomi was the first and last person to witness  
it finally shatter on impact, before she collapsed from sheer exhaustion into a  
crumpled heap beside the mirror, its heart now broken forever.

\--------------------------------------------------

It was still dark when Naomi came round and discovered herself lying on the floor  
beside the fireplace in her lounge. Looking up she noticed the first signs of daylight  
beginning to creep in, casting eerie shadows in the room. Slowly coming to her  
senses, she stumbled to her feet, allowing herself to remember what had happened  
during the night? Her head ached, painfully so, but at the same time, deep inside she  
felt a growing relief that she had somehow managed to smash the enchanted mirror  
which had imprisoned Kuchisake's vengeful spirit. Staring down at the shattered  
remnants of what was left, she let out a heavy sigh. 

"May you rest in peace now," she whispered, closing her eyes in prayer.

Suddenly a wave of nausea hit her and she fell against the wall where the mirror had  
once hung in all its magnificent splendour. The throbbing pain began to increase and  
she groaned aloud, begging for it to cease. Ignoring her pleas it became so intense  
that she was unable to think clearly, and it was only then she recognised the horrifying  
truth of what was happening? She could feel it twisting and turning, grasping at her  
very essence and choking the life out of her.

"Oh god," she gasped, "She can't have?"

But the voice she thought she'd never hear again, echoed in her mind, forcing itself to  
be acknowledged. "Did you honestly think you could win?"

"Please…" Naomi began, helplessly. She'd had let herself foolishly believe that she  
could bring the spirit's wrath to an end by breaking the object that had been  
imprisoning it? Only now it had escaped, this time aiming its revenge on the one  
person who had tried to stop it.

"Ah, you are so intelligent," Kuchisake said, full of sarcasm as it read her thoughts.  
"Oh yes, after loosing your soul completely, I will become you for the rest of your  
natural born life, my sweet Naomi. So, now be a good girl and surrender to me."

As the words sank in, she knew the spirit was going to seal her fate, and soon.  
Unless? Without a word, Naomi removed her watch and stamped on it, cracking the  
plastic cover. She didn't know how much time she had left, and so knew she must act  
fast. Even though her head was pounding and her insides screaming, she swallowed  
down the bile that had risen in her throat and took deep breaths, forcing herself to be  
calm. Then hurriedly she checked all around the room just in case there were any  
more reflections, any other possible means of escape? All the while she could hear  
Kuchisake asking her what her intentions were? Well she was going to prove to this  
spirit once and for all just how clever she was. Refusing to give her an answer, she  
then cleared her mind completely, an art of meditation she had tried several times  
back in Japan, and as a result it left Kuchisake with nothing but an empty void to  
listen to. 

Now she knew what she must do. Kneeling down, Naomi carefully picked up the  
broken bits of mirror and placed them into the fireplace, leaving a solitary piece on  
the floor. Then after lighting a match, she watched as the flames engulfed it. Only  
then did she allow a single thought to emerge, as she pictured Mulder in her mind's  
eye. But as soon as she had done this, Kuchisake's hatred for him began welling up  
inside. However she ignored this feeling by completely concentrating on the kindness  
he had shown her, when they had first met.

"Please find the happiness you deserve with Scully," she murmured, softly, as tears  
started to course down her cheeks. Realising it was something she was never going  
to share with him or indeed anyone else, ever again? She picked up the broken shard  
that had been left on the floor, and with deliberate swift movements slashed both of  
her wrists. Mercifully the pain was brief. Maybe the spirit had known what the  
outcome would be all along, and had taken pity on her this time?

"Rest now," she whispered.

As she lay on the floor, blood continued to pour from self-inflicted wounds and pool  
all around her, and she managed a faint smile before the darkness descended upon her  
for the very last time. 

Naomi had been proven correct. Since she had taken her life without any anger in her  
heart, Kuchisake's vengeful spirit, which had held her prisoner for so long, was  
cleansed and released from her torment, as was her own soul. Now both could finally  
find peace at last.

\----------------------------------------------

Single-Story Rural Home, Virginia, USA – February 25th 2009

Epilogue

A week had passed since his ordeal that had involved yet another paranormal myth  
becoming a part of his reality. This time resulting in the death of a young woman he  
had become very close to. Closer than he liked to admit actually, even if a vengeful  
spirit had been the cause, so technically it hadn't been his fault? Unfortunately he  
also had to discover this terrible tragedy from the man who despised him. Agent  
Mosley Drummy had sounded sympathetic on the phone, but Mulder knew the man  
still believed he'd had an affair with the victim, and nothing was going to change his  
mind about that. Scully had even told him, Drummy thought she was a fool for  
choosing to ignore this and for taking him back. 

Now Mulder was at home in his study reading the latest issue of the Richmond Times  
Dispatch and had come across one of its sensational headlines, JAPANESE WOMAN  
FOUND DEAD IN HER PENTHOUSE! The title alone made him cringe in disgust.  
Noticing the black and white photo hadn't even done her any justice; he let out a sigh  
of annoyance. Naomi had been far more beautiful than this had depicted her.  
Tenderly he let his fingers stroke the grainy image on the newspaper. Then he started  
to read with caution as he knew from experience, how journalists liked to bend the  
truth. Just as he had predicted, this article didn't fail to disappoint him with that  
observation either. So the coroner had reported it as a suicide case and not foul play?  
Well, what a surprise? It was clear the one-track minded reporter was only interested  
in the fact that the woman had spent time in a psychiatric unit, after suffering the  
tragic loss of her fiancé, and younger sister who had also committed suicide. And  
even though her mother and cousin, had believed she was fit enough to face the real  
world? That this had obviously not been the case, so Naomi had become completely  
unstable one night and killed herself.

Carefully he began cutting the article out of the paper, and as he did so a tear rolled  
down his face. Brushing it away, Mulder couldn't help feeling angry that most people  
would read this trash, and would be led to believe that Naomi was just some nutcase  
that shouldn't have been let out in the first place. A handful would perhaps see her  
plight as a tragic cry for help after suffering such incredible loss in her life. But  
only Scully and he would know how this brave young woman, clearly completely sane,  
found the strength to finally end the Slit-Mouth-Woman's endless search for revenge  
on the husband who brutally murdered her back in 14th Century Japan, by taking her  
own life. 

Crossing over to his wall, he began pinning up the article next to all his other  
newspaper clippings, which had all in one way or another been related to the  
paranormal, even if each reporter had failed to mention this. Even though that  
Frankenstein case had been 95% science, there had still been a psychic connection.

He stood looking at her photo again, and felt tears brimming up in his eyes, so blinked  
them away. He was so grateful Scully had managed to come to his rescue, but he  
wished he could have done the same for Naomi. Alas fate had not allowed him to be  
the hero on this occasion.

As he was pondering on that sad fact, Dana entered dressed in a long silk sapphire  
blue nightgown, walked over, and wrapped her arms around him from behind, holding  
him tightly against her.

He turned around and planted a warm kiss on her lips, which she returned with equal  
affection.

"I know why Kuchisake didn't kill me now? Naomi was able to take some form of  
control; I mean she succeeded in bringing the spirit's wrath to an end. But what gave  
her the strength? How did she stop her from cutting my throat?" Mulder asked her,  
still trying to answer questions that refused to go away.

Maybe it was women's intuition or some such thing? However Scully was sure she  
knew the reason why, but decided to be diplomatic about it. "Maybe it's because she  
fell in love with you? So when Kuchisake wanted revenge on this particular  
reincarnation of Yukio…?" she said, placing one hand on his chest. "Then Naomi  
had her heart set on rescuing you, even if the cost was her own life." 

In response she felt him shudder in her arms, so squeezed him gently. "I have never  
blamed you for sleeping with her, you know that my love," she reassured him. "It  
was all the fault of that damn Slit-Mouth Woman."

Mulder had once been so distraught believing that she would never in a million years  
accept a paranormal excuse for his and Naomi's, passionate tryst? Yet she had, and  
now he was even more relaxed with this woman than he had ever been in his life, and  
felt he could tell her all of his secrets now. So he began explaining one in particular,  
that he thought he'd never reveal, for fear of her hating him? How he had been made  
to carry the painful burden of knowing he was the reason why Sam had been taken  
and not him. However on the very same night Naomi killed herself, it suddenly had  
become clear to him that the memory had been a lie, which Kuchisake had forced him  
to believe. Maybe because she simply got pure enjoyment out of torturing the men-  
folk who used to be Yukio, before killing them? He wasn't sure, but it did sound like  
her sort of twisted logic. Only it seemed once the spirit was released, then her power  
also dissipated, breaking the spell she'd cast on him, as it were. 

Mulder had to admit to himself though, had this terrible secret actually been the truth,  
god forbid, he wasn't certain if he would have plucked up the courage to tell Scully or  
not? 

"Mulder?" she said, after he'd finished reminiscing over these past events. "I can't  
say I'm over the moon that I had to open myself fully to the paranormal. I mean I  
promised myself after the Frankenstein caper, I would never get involved again?"

"I know Scully," he interrupted. "And I don't mind telling you I had fears that even  
though you had to witness the weird and wonderful all over again, that you would  
completely dismiss it, like you've done before?"

"Believe me I would love to say that none of that actually happened, but how can I?"  
she admitted. "But, I saw how all this affected Naomi, so of course I'm reluctant to  
embrace it completely."

"Oh, oh. Here it comes," Mulder said worriedly, ready for a change of heart.

Dana punched him playfully on the shoulder. "There's no need for oh, oh," she  
assured him, then added, "Deep down I would still love you to retire from your ghost  
busting business." She noticed a frown appear on his face, and gave him a big smile.  
"But?" she emphasised. "If it wasn't for your involvement, and Naomi's attraction  
for you, then Kuchisake would still be exacting revenge. They say everything  
happens for a reason?" she said, forlornly.

"How about some sort of compromise?" he suggested, trying to offer a solution and at  
the same time cheer her up.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, curiously, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I've been keeping a journal of most of our X File cases, including that modern  
Frankenstein incident," he told her, with a smile. "I'm also planning to type up an  
account of this recent one involving Naomi," he added quietly, allowing a wave of  
emotion to wash over him, but let it pass. "I'm thinking of translating the whole kit  
and caboodle into a novel," he announced. "Well you did tell me to put it all in a  
book?" he reminded her, then added, "Perhaps it will even make us some extra cash?"

"Your first ever paranormal masterpiece, huh?" Scully said, grinning. She also  
couldn't help being touched that he was thinking only of their income, and not even  
considering whether or not it could lead him to becoming a success as an  
accomplished author? Hey, anything was possible? "Oh, it's sure to be a runaway  
success," she said, squeezing his hand, gently.

He realised she was offering words of encouragement and pulled her into a bear hug.  
"That'll be the heart of the storyline. So of course it will have to be labelled as a  
piece of fiction, not fact," he grinned, sheepishly, stroking her long auburn hair.

Scully gave him a loving peck, and then smiled knowingly. "Of course."

Gently he stepped back, but still kept a hold on her. He had another question; only  
this was most likely going to alter the mood, so he wanted to be prepared. "And  
speaking of phenomena and the like, what about 2012?"

Her expression revealed to him, she was stunned by his change of subject. Well it had  
been the first time he'd actually mentioned it to her since she'd discovered the date of  
the alien invasion, all thanks to his real father, the dearly departed smoking son-of-a-  
bitch. So now he was wishing he hadn't brought it up? 

"Oh, Scully?" he said, about to apologise profusely. 

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she replied, abruptly.

That certainly wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, only he could tell by the tone in  
her voice it was all she was going to say on the subject. So he just nodded in reply,  
because the truth of the matter was he didn't want an argument to kill the mood. So  
the aliens could wait…for now. 

Scully was pleased to see the discussion wasn't going any further. "Please let's just  
enjoy living in the moment, Hon," she begged lightly, whilst grabbing him firmly by  
the hand and pulling him out of the study, away from all his paranormal  
paraphernalia.

"Scully, you read my mind," he teased, winking at her.

"Nasty habit," she said, beaming all over her face.

Mulder returned the grin; aware they were now in the living area. Whirling her  
around into his arms, he kissed her deeply, whilst backing her towards the sofa.

Scully broke the kiss when she realised his intentions. "Oh Mulder, wouldn't you  
prefer our nice comfy bed," she said, excitedly.

"And here I was thinking it was going to be a quick fumble," he joked. "You mean  
you don't have to go back to work?" he asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Nope," she replied, "I'm all yours, babe!"

"It's times like these when I realise just what a lucky man I am," he told her,  
meaningfully.

"You sure are," she teased.

"C'm here you," he said, once again pulling her into his arms. 

A good while was spent drowning each other in passionate kisses, and then taking her  
by the hand, Mulder led them to their bedroom, for a much long awaited night of  
lovemaking.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> NB: YOU CAN ALSO FIND MY AUDIO BOOK OF THIS WORK COMPLETE WITH SOUND EFFECTS IN 14 PARTS ON MY YOUTUBE PAGE, UNDER MY USERNAME PENSCREEN  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KdKG_Pj3cM&list=PLPU5BEVLR9-bIl1bkokO2MU80sRsGQzNI


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